It's Relative
by Happy-Raven
Summary: Your parents are coming for a visit - but they don't know you're a superhero. What's a Titan to do?
1. Chapter 1

A/N) New fic for ya, hope it's somewhat amusing. :D Taking a few liberties with comic canon. (Hey, the cartoon does it, why can't I?) So for the duration please lets all pretend BB's parents aren't dead and they were specifically geneticists. Hey, it's biology! :D One reference to my other fic (a Raven of a different color) Not anything that requires you to read it but I wouldn't complain if you did. This isn't going to be a really shippy fic, just so you know. Its more general humor

* * *

It's Relative

"Yo, BB! Mail Call!" Cyborg tossed a letter at his green teammate. The square sliced through the air and hit Best Boy in the back of his head. The changeling yelped a rubbed the sore spot, momentarily taking his hand off the game station control. In that instant Robin pulled his racer ahead.

"Yeagh!" Beast Boy hurriedly tried to regain his lead, but it was too late. "Awwww man,"

"Whoohoo!" Robin pumped a fist in the air. Beast Boy turned in his seat and scowled at his mechanical friend.

"Great timing, Cy," he grumbled. His friend vaulted over the back of the couch and retrieved the controller Beast Boy had dropped.

"I think so, B. I had next game." He grinned expansively and then bent to the task of seriously trying to kick Robin's butt. Beast Boy muttered and examined the envelope. It'd been sent to him all right, but the return address... He gasped and tore open the letter. Quickly scanning its contents his eyes grew larger and larger. Oblivious to their friend's growing distress, Cyborg and Robin continued to play. Cyborg had just pulled ahead, so it was fitting that Beast Boys scream of abject terror would startle him enough to lose the lead and consequently the game. He turned to glare at Beast Boy but only found a cloud of dust were the changeling had just been.

"Hey, where'd he go?" Cyborg asked. Robin shrugged, also confused by their teammates odd behavior. "Think we should go find out?" Cy jerked a thumb in the general direction the green teen had run in. The Boy Wonder nodded. They got up to find out what was wrong with Beast Boy when Robin's communicator beeped.

Robin stopped in mid-stride. "Good thing I set that alarm," he turned off the beeping. "Sorry Cy, but I've gotta be on my way. It's a long drive to Gotham."

"Oh the thing with Batman, right?" Robin nodded.

"I'll call tomorrow to see how everything is here. Call me if whatever happened to BB is an emergency" Robin headed back to the couch and grabbed a knapsack that matched the rest of his uniform; red, gold and green. "Hopefully everything will be quiet here, but call me if you run into trouble."

"Relax man, we got it covered," Cyborg assured the team's leader.

"You sure?" Robin asked again.

"Don't worry about it."

"OK then. See you in a few days," Robin hefted his pack and headed for the elevator. He pushed the button and waited a few moments. The doors reopened and Robin stepped into the massive entrance hall where he'd stashed the R-Cycle off to the side the previous evening. Sighing he stowed his pack and wheeled his bike outside.

A part of him wanted to head back to Gotham, head back 'home'. But another part of him wanted to stay here; and not just because he felt he had a civic duty to Jump City. No, this place had become his home now, just as the circus and Gotham had been before. This time however was bit different. He'd walked into those other places and joined something in progress, joined someone else's team. This time he'd made the city his own, the team his own. This would also be his first time back on Batman's 'turf' since the Teen Titans had formed. Robin felt he'd grown since he'd left Gotham; he just hoped Batman saw it that way too.

"Robin!" He looked around then up. Starfire flew down from the roof, a worried expression on her normally cheerful face. "You are leaving?" she asked, expressive eyes sad. Robin nodded.

"Yeah," he told her, "But it's only for a few days." He put on a smile for her benefit. "I'll be back in no time. You just worry about the city."

"You are going to meet with your mentor? The manbat?"

"Batman," Robin gently corrected. "Yeah." Starfire looked at the ground, one arm holding the other as she thought. She gasped and clasped her hands together.

"Perhaps if I accompany you, I will be of some assistance? Then you will be able to help your mentor faster and can return home that much more quickly?" She looked so hopeful Robin almost said yes. Truthfully he'd have loved to bring her with him, but that was impossible. It wasn't so much that Robin was coming back to Gotham to be with Batman, but that Dick Grayson was returning from enrollment at boarding school to be with Bruce Wayne. He was sure a number of excessively boring dinner parties were scheduled; bringing Starfire and having to explain the niceties of high society Gotham would have helped alleviate some of his boredom. But unfortunately Starfire could be connected to Robin and Robin to Dick and Dick to Bruce. After that it was a short deductive hop to figure out who Bruce Wayne's alter ego was.

"Sorry Star," Robin said putting his helmet on. "Not this time." Seeing her downcast glance he added, "I'll ask if you can come with me next time. But this time I have to go alone."

"Ok," she said, slightly cheered.

"Hey, Beast Boy got something in the mail that made him flip out. See if he needs anything, ok? Cy's checking up on it right now."

"Flip out?" Starfire said the unfamiliar term slowly, as if tasting the words. Robin smiled slightly and shook his head as he revved the engine.

"Ask Cyborg or Raven. I have to go ok?" he waited for her hesitant nod then waved. "Later!" Robin wheeled the bike around, igniting the engine in the back of the bike as well as the two smaller ones on either side. He lifted off the ground then shot over the water. Robin cut the extra engines as he made landfall and headed towards the highway connecting Jump City and Gotham. Robin hated to be so brief with Starfire, but he had a long distance to cover and he intended to arrive in Gotham by a little before nightfall. Perhaps he and Batman would patrol the city together.

Inside Titan's Tower Cyborg wasn't having much luck with Beast Boy. The man-machine rapped on his friend's door once more. "Come on BB, what was in the letter?" once again he got no reply. "If you don't come out of there I might just have to break the door down," he threatened hoping to get some response.

"And if you don't quiet down I might have to break both of you." Raven emerged from her dark domain down the hall. Her violet eyes glinted with annoyance from the shadows of her hood. Cyborg took an involuntary step back and scratched the back of his head.

"Sorry Rae. BB got a letter and flipped out. I haven't been about to find out why." He shrugged expansively.

"That is the second time someone has used that term," Starfire said as she joined them. "Robin left before he could explain it to me. Tell me, what does it mean for Beast Boy to 'Flip Out'.? I get the feeling it does not have to do with acrobatics."

"It means to go crazy or act irrationally," Raven told her.

"Ah! So when you react to someone entering your room, that is flipping out?" Starfire asked innocently, confident and proud that she was using the new term correctly. Cyborg sweat dropped and a vein popped on the side of Raven's head.

"Something like that," Raven ground out.

"Look, let's see what's the matter with BB. With Robin in Gotham until Bats is done with him, we need the elf in top form." Cyborg redirected he conversation back to their friend's unusual behavior. He knocked on the door once more. "Come on, B. We're your friend's dawg. If it's something bad we can help you,"

"Not this you can't," Beast Boy said, opening the door suddenly. He wore an unusually serious expression.

"Are you going too?" Starfire asked. She pointed to the half packed suitcase in the middle of the floor. Beast Boy retreated into his room and resumed his packing, his friends following him inside. Beast Boy's method of packing seemed to consist of frantically pulling random clothing out of drawers and his closet and stuffing them in various bags and cases. Starfire and Cyborg watched him dismantle his room with something approaching awe. Raven noted a letter on his desk and picked it up. Scanning it quickly, Beast Boy's actions suddenly became clear. She would certainly have done the same thing in his place... Though perhaps a bit more orderly, she reflected as a stray shirt landed on her head. She tossed the garment off in the general direction of the suitcase and held the letter up.

"So, your parents are visiting." Beast Boy froze in place and nodded rapidly, looking wildly around he redoubled his efforts to pack everything. He grabbed the top of his suitcase and tried to shut it.

"Yeah, and they're visiting _here_." He tried zipping the suitcase closed but it was too full. He hopped on top of the case and tried to close it again, but his weight wasn't enough. Shifting into a gorilla form, he tried again and finally closed it. He changed back and sat on it, wiping his brow. A moment later a large ripping noise sounded and Beast Boy had just enough time to realize what it was before the suitcase exploded. His lower lip trembled as he surveyed the damage.

"You are not pleased to be seeing your parents?" Starfire asked.

"Uh, well...they're my....parents," Beast Boy tried to explain.

"Yes?" Starfire prompted.

"Well, they're them." He flailed. "I mean if they were your parents you'd understand. And they're coming _here_. To the Tower! "

"I still do not think I understand," Starfire said sadly.

"I, er, they think I'm at boarding school." He said sheepishly "I didn't tell them I was a superhero." A moment of silence passed then Cyborg began laughing so hard, he had to brace himself against the wall. Raven was expressionless as per usual and Starfire looked slightly confused, also per usual.

"Your parents wish for you to be a boarder?" she asked.

"He means that his parents think he is at a school where the students live as well as attend classes," Raven explained. Since Robin wasn't there to eagerly explain earth terms to Starfire, the job usually fell to Raven. 'Great,' Raven thought to herself. She expected star to be confused quite a bit if Beast Boy's parents did show up on their doorstep.

"Oh," Starfire nodded, "We have similar schools on my homeworld. Technically, I could be considered at such a place now." She smiled brightly.

"So I guess you're going to have to come clean, huh?" Cyborg said once he got his laughter under control.

"Yeah I guess."

"Well I'm going to go make lunch. Then we should probably clean...if we're having guests," He grinned somewhat evilly and looked back at Beast Boy.

"I shall assist! I shall make a traditional Tamaranian dish of welcoming," Starfire declared. Beast Boy watched them walk away and whimpered. Sighing in defeat he began to pick up the clothing in his room. The changeling figured he had slightly less than twenty-four hours before his parents arrived. He supposed he could get his room clean in that time. Or at least clean enough that his mother wouldn't spend more than half an hour commenting on it - provided he lived long enough. He wasn't entirely convinced his parents wouldn't kill him as soon as they found out he hadn't exactly been truthful.

It was only after one of his upended drawers glowed black and floated back into place that he noticed Raven hadn't left with Star and Cy. "Thanks." Thoughts swirled in his head as he considered his situation.

"No problem," she said, using her powers to return several things to their proper places. With Raven's help Beast Boy actually managed to get all his clothing put away fairly quickly. He sat on the edge of his desk and heaved a sigh. Raven sat in mid air. She actually looked sympathetic.

"I know I don't have any room to complain about my parents," he said. It was true, they were actually decent people aside from being excessively embarrassing and frequently smothering. He definitely didn't have room when he considered what he knew of Raven's father. He gave an involuntary shudder. "But...You guys have enough to make fun of me over without them adding anything." His parents were embarrassing; a reason he hadn't told them exactly what he was doing. If he was in school, they were content to let him take classes. Running around stopping super villains was a different matter.

"Maybe, it won't be that bad?" Raven suggested. He shook his head and stared out the window. The cheerful afternoon sun only served to make him feel more depressed.

"Half the time they treat me like I'm a five year old."

"So does Cyborg," Raven pointed out.

"Nah," Beast Boy waved the notion aside. "He's not serious. Cy's like an older brother and he's one of my best friends. We're practically obligated to give each other a hard time." Raven's look was dubious. "Look, it' a guy thing ok? Anyway, he might give me a hard time but he knows that I'm a part of the team," he jerked a thumb at his chest. "He knows I can take care of myself and that I'll do whatever I need to do to help." Raven nodded. As annoying as Beast Boy sometimes was he really was as vital a part of the team as any of them. "They honestly don't think I can do anything for myself. The only reason I was sent to boarding school was that they didn't want me in Africa anymore. They convinced themselves I would get sick again.

"So your parents don't think you can take care of yourself and therefore treat you like a little kid. That's fairly common though, isn't it?" She'd seen that sort of familial relationship on TV though no doubt those situations were exaggerated. But having no real first-hand experience, she wasn't sure herself. Her mother had done precious little of raising her. Trigon saw her as more of a weapon than a person and Raven had been specially kept from his influence. Beast Boy shrugged.

"It's worse, Raven." Beast Boy stood and began trying to get his desk into some sort of order as he spoke.

"They don't know you're a Titan." She stated evenly. He nodded morosely and folded up an extra blanket that had been thrown across his desk chair.

"Yeah and I didn't tell them because not only would they try and stop me, they blame themselves,"

"For?"

"For me. For this," he pointed at his ears, "and this." He pulled off a glove and pointed at his hand. Raven realized he meant his green skin. His parents had done that? As if reading her thoughts, he explained, "When I was little I got sick. Really sick," He scratched the back of his head and looked slightly ashamed himself, "My parents are geneticists, and knew that only animals could somehow survive what I had, but they didn't have the time to find out exactly how. Long story short, they sort of combined a lot of DNA together and tried to make a cure. It worked, I was better in a month, but," he shrugged.

"But you were the shade of an avocado?" Raven asked dryly. Beast Boy chuckled.

"Good one! But, yeah. They didn't care since I was alive. The local tribe thought it was kind of weird but-"

"Tribe?"

He nodded. "We were in Africa at the time," he explained offhandedly. Raven blinked in surprised but let him continue without comment. "That's where I thought they were still. Anyway a snake was going to bite my mom and I got it to go away by turning into a mongoose." He shrugged. "But I'm getting off topic. They feel like they did something horrible to me. The shape shifting thing kinda freaks them out. They're scientists and they don't know how to explain it without dissecting me and they don't want to do that," he shrugged at the helpless situation. "I get the feeling they think they've totally ruined my life but aren't saying anything because they don't want me to know. I dunno, Its not easy being green." He chuckled and Raven rolled her eyes. "But it's not so bad." Beast Boy pulled at his uniform, "The whole super-hero sense of fashion leaves something to be desired, but I get to help people."

"It's only for a few days," Raven said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "If I could survive my other selves escaping from my mind, you can survive your parents embarrassing you for a few days. After you tell them."

"Yeah, I don't think I could pass off Titans Tower as a school," he chuckled.

"Robin's out of town," Raven said, "he's the only one who could pass as a principal." She turned and walked away, leaving Beast Boy stunned. Raven had made a joke? Raven did funny? Chuckling, he tried to bring order to his chaotic room.

As Beast Boy dreaded his parents' impending visit, his friends took some pity on him and helped clean the tower - or at least make it more presentable. By evening Cyborg had finally tired of giving his friend good-natured grief and had coaxed him into watching a relaxing movie (Psycho Killers from the Undead Dimension of Pain III ), Starfire was in the kitchen area making something - no one wanted to ask what was in it - and Raven had retreated to her room to meditate.

Around this time, Robin had finally made it to Gotham city. He pulled his bike to a stop and watched the city lights glimmer below; bright jewels in the brooding darkness. The city was a lot like Batman, he mused; dark and brooding. He revved the engine and continued on his way. Because of its location, the city was almost constantly in an overcast darkness, a stark contrast to Jump City where the numerous sunny days had left Robin slightly disoriented at first. Robin sped around the city limits, heading for the wooded area just beyond the Wayne estate. Flipping a switch on the bike's console, he brought up his helmet's HUD. There were no other vehicles in the area so Robin felt confident about heading to the Bat Cave's hidden entrance. The security system accepted his entrance code and the doors opened for him. The R-Cycles engine sounded loud in the suddenly close confines of the cave. He slowed the bike to a halt and spun it around, readying it lest it be needed at a moments notice. Robin slid off the bike and set the helmet on the seat. He grabbed his knapsack with one hand and got rid of any helmet hair with the other. Whistling, he headed deeper into the cave.

"Welcome home," a cultured voice greeted him from the darkness.

"Hi Alfred," he greeted. It was good to see the older English gentleman again. Bruce was most definitely the father figure in his life, but Alfred was nearly as significant. He was to Robin, as he was to Batman, a voice of reason. Robin, like his mentor, tended to become a bit...obsessive. Alfred was a reminder of reality - weather it was something you wanted to hear or not. The butler held out a change of clothing; normal clothes from his closet and thankfully not anything formal.

"Master Bruce is on his way home from the city. He should be arriving momentarily."

"Thanks," Robin said, taking the clothing and heading for the cave's, for lack of a better word, locker room area. By the time Robin entered the mansion above as Dick Grayson, Bruce had returned home.

"You're taller." Bruce appraised him gravely.

Dick returned with the equally solemn, "You're older." The straight faces only held for about a minute before they broke down into grins. Dick greeted his mentor and friend with a hug and pat on the back. With a mischievous grin, Bruce ruffled his hair and ducked away when Dick swatted the offending hand.

"Lets grab dinner then you can tell me what you've been up to," Bruce suggested. Dick nodded and followed Bruce into the kitchen.

* * *

If you got this far, thanks for reading ! what do you think? Smack the button! you know you wanna 


	2. Chapter 2

A/N) More! I hope you like it! Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed – more at the bottom :D you all totally made my day. So I am most definitely going to be fudging some of Bats' and Robin's interactions, going off what I know/can remember about Bats and Robin and their alter egos.

Edit2: its STILL insisting on eating a section towards the end. Trying to re-reload. grrrrrr.

* * *

Chapter 2 ( Electric boogaloo!)

Dick Grayson blinked as the early morning sun found its way through his drapes. He stretched and yawned, inhaling the familiar smell of his Wayne Manor room; cedar from his closet, wood polish, a hint of sea air from outside. Added to this was the scent of disuse he'd found when he had first moved in. His room was spotless and hardly dusty, but like much of the mansion before he'd arrived, it no longer smelled lived in. Dick climbed out of bed and put on a pair of jeans and a dark blue t-shirt then quickly ran fingers through his hair giving it its customary spikiness. Yawning, he made his way downstairs for breakfast.

The kitchen smelled of cinnamon rolls, scrambled eggs and pancakes. "Smells good," he said appreciatively. Bruce set down the morning paper and greeted him as the youth sat down.

"Sleep well?" Wayne took a sip of coffee while he waited for Grayson to finish yawning once again and answer.

"Yep," he nodded and helped himself to a roll from the plate on the kitchen table. "Spending a day riding on a motorcycle isn't that much fun," he smiled, "A shower and some sleep was fantastic. So what's up?" he took a bite of the roll and found Alfred's cooking to be every bit as good as it was when he'd last tasted it.

"The board of directors is having a formal dinner at the Gotham Ritz . Mrs. Bezetter hasn't seen you for some time. It was...heavily implied that I should bring you."

Dick groaned, causing his friend to smirk. Mrs. Olivia Bezetter was an (ancient in Dick's opinion) heiress who'd inherited a place on the Wayne corp. Board after her husband had passed some ten years before. Her actual role was rather small in the grand scheme of things, but she seemed to delight in mothering the younger members - including Bruce, and through him, Dick. She had to be eighty and Dick swore up and down that her perfume of choice was twice that age His first encounter with the woman was at a similar board dinner just after he'd first come to Wayne Manor. He'd been lifted off his feet in a surprisingly strong hug and smothered in the smell of musty perfume and furs while her dog yapped at her feet. She'd set him down and smoothed his spiked hair, speaking to him as if he were a small child. She'd then dragged him around the room making introductions and, in the way of those convinced they know it all and know it all better than everyone else, had asked him lots of questions before answering them herself a few moments later.

"Couldn't you have just said I was still in school? Or studying abroad or something?" Dick asked, morosely.

Bruce shook his head. "That's what I told her the last _several_ times she's asked. Some of the others were asking after you,"

Dick poured syrup on a stack of pancakes and grumbled, "What, they think you have me locked away some place when I'm not in school?" Bruce shrugged.

"Who knows? It isn't mandatory that you come, you know." Dick arched a critical eyebrow. It wasn't mandatory but Dick knew he'd go anyway and Bruce knew he would. Bruce could have made another excuse but he hadn't. The truth was that Bruce had wanted to see his protégée again; to catch up and see how he was progressing. Dick knew it, Bruce knew it, but as their relationship was anything but touchy-feely neither voiced the truth and went along with the convenient excuse of the formal dinner.

"Nah, I'll go. You'll die of boredom or Mrs. Bezetter's pestering if I don't," Grayson joked. "Who's minding the store?"

"Barb." Dick nodded. 'Barb' as in Barbara Gordon, as in the commissioner's daughter, as in Batgirl. "The party is in honor of the new science labs we helped build at the university." Dick nodded again.

He finished the stack of pancakes and sat back, feeling completely stuffed. "Thanks Alfred." The butler nodded as he removed the plate.

"Don't get food like this in Jump City?" Bruce asked. Dick shook his head with a small grin.

"Breakfast usually resembles a battlefield," he said wryly. "One of my roommates is vegan and insists everyone eat tofu. Another thinks breakfast is about eating as many artery clogging things as possible. The third usually skips breakfast entirely and just drinks tea in the morning and the last is uhm, foreign. Her idea of breakfast is...odd."

"Odd?"

"Well, let's put it this way, she drinks mustard."

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

At ten minutes to ten Beast Boy yelped and tried to hide under the couch. He scrambled unsuccessfully for a minute before he remembered he could shift shape, then slithered under as an emerald colored snake. Raven's hand darted out and caught the end of his tail before it disappeared under the couch. She tugged him out and held him up until he was eye level.

"It's pointless to hide under the couch. They're here and they are your parents."

"Yeah man. It's not like they're Plasmus or Slade or something," Cyborg added as Raven set Beast Boy back down on the couch. He shifted back into his usual form.

"You have faced far worse adversaries with a single liner,"

"One liner," Raven corrected Starfire.

"Yes. You have faced enemies with a one liner joke and have not run. It is most unlike you to run from your parents."

"You're right. Maybe I am making a bigger deal out of this than I should." Beast Boy stood and scratched the back of his head, a bit ashamed of his behavior.

"Yeah, man. Hey look, we'll all come down and meet them ok?" Cyborg offered. Starfire clasped her hands and nodded rapidly. She had yet to view a familial unit on this planet up close.

"Sure," Raven shrugged. They piled into the elevator and were soon in the entrance hall. Understanding that his school was on an island in the Jump City bay, his parents had said they would meet him at one of the bayside cafes. Raven gave Cy a lift and they all flew over to the nearest dock.

"So where are we headed?" Cyborg asked.

"The dancing goat," Beast Boy said with some distain. "Way overpriced. Bad poetry."

"Agreed," Raven said.

"You've been to a cafe?" Cyborg could see Raven at one but not Beast Boy.

"Yeah, you haven't?" Beast Boy retorted. "A key component of a Cafe is the coffee," he said loftily before scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. "Chocolate mocha lattes are a guilty pleasure, what can I say?"

"I believe we have arrived." Starfire pointed to an artfully pretentious building with asymmetrical windows and a silver finish. Oddly shaped French doors opened to an outside seating area. The smell of expensive coffee swirled around them carried on a land breeze. A solitary couple sat under an overly large umbrella, talking animatedly over their coffee.

"They do not look as formidable as some of the adversaries we have placed in jail," Starfire said. She'd been expecting the couple to be...scarier. And a lot more green.

"Yeah. Hey I haven't seen them in a few years. Maybe they've heard of us. They might know about my life as a dashing super hero already." He smiled his most dashing smile. "This might not be so bad after all." he strode confidently forward.

"My baby!"

"Or not."

A middle aged woman darted forward and grabbed Beast Boy in a bone crunching hug worthy of his Tamaranian friend. The 'baby' in question blushed scarlet in embarrassment - the red bright enough to overcome the green cast of his skin.

"Garfield m'boy!" Raven, Starfire and Cyborg blinked then shared a look. Beast Boy's real name was Garfield? Cyborg bit the inside of his cheek trying hard not to laugh. Starfire stared from the family reunion to Cyborg and back again. She frowned. Why was Cyborg laughing? She began to ask but was cut off by Raven before she made a sound.

"I'll explain later," Raven said, forestalling Star's question. The alien girl nodded and clasped her hands behind her back, watching the human family. Thus far it seemed like a reunion on her own home-world, so Cyborg's apparent mirth at Beast Boy's expense confused her.

Beast Boy's mother was a fairly short woman with short, feathery, silver hair that probably had been black at one point. She wore a casual skirt and summer blouse. His father was a tall man with short salt and pepper hair and goatee. He wore oddly stylish glasses and a lightweight leather jacket. Both had a bookish air which screamed "Academic". If they were geneticists like Beast Boy said, that fit, Raven thought. She smirked; his parents were obviously smart so it was a shame Beast Boy, or _Garfield_ rather, wasn't.

His mother's expression fell in a moment and she held him by his shoulders at arm's length. "Did you know you're wearing spandex?"

"Uh, it's not really spandex,"

"So, we noticed your school is shaped like a T," his father said with a small frown. "It's an...interesting architecture choice."

"Uhm...about that," he laughed nervously. "It's not exactly a school," Beast Boy said cowering a bit under their scrutiny.

"Not exactly a school," his mother said in an even tone which clearly stated that he needed to 'fess up and 'fess up now about whatever he was keeping from them. "Then what _exactly_ is it?"

His father's eyes lit with comprehension. "Oh, that's not your school. Is it a building on the campus? Do you live there and take classes in a building on the mainland?"

"...No. Uh, I have a confession to make," They looked at him expectantly as he floundered around trying to think of how he could phrase it. His mother crossed her arms and fixed him with a stern look.

"Well?"

"Mom, Dad, I'm a super hero." he said, boldly, head up, chest out, ready to bear his parents' wrath. And promptly closed both eyes awaiting death - or a severe grounding. When no response came he opened first one eye then the other. They were looking at him with the same sort of bemused smile Cy and Robin often gave him when they thought he was being childish.

"Is this a sort of game, Gar?"

"No! I really am a superhero! I'm a Teen Titan." his parents looked at one another then back at their son.

"A what?"

"Is that sort of like the football team?" his mother asked. "Didn't we see a football movie about a team called the Titans?" she asked her husband.

"That would explain the spandex," his father replied, as if Beast Boy wasn't even there.

"Not much padding in that uniform though. I'm not sure I like the idea of you playing football without the correct gear, Gar."

"I'm not a football player!" He flailed his arms rapidly to get their attention. Of all the possible scenarios he'd thought of, none of them had included them not believing him. It was disconcerting to say the least.

"Rugby?" Beast Boy gave his father a withering glare. He looked over his shoulder and caught his friend's reactions out of the corner of his eye. Starfire looked confused, Raven looked mildly amused and Cyborg was probably going to explode at any moment from trying not to laugh.

"No." Sighing he placed his palms on the table. Looking from one parent to the other he explained slowly, "I. Am. A. Super hero. I do not go to a boarding school. I never went to that school. I am part of a team that stops the really, really bad guys." He pulled out his wallet and flashed a card in front of them "I'm an official city guardian!" he threw his hands up, "We have a theme song for cryin' out loud!" They blinked owlishly at him for a moment and he replaced his wallet. Sighing, Beast Boy ran a grey, gloved hand over his face. "Do you want to meet my friends?" Time for a change of tactics.

"Yes, I rather think we do." His mother said primly.

"Sounds like you might have fallen in with a bad crowd."

"What? We're the good guys! City Guardian remember? Guardian implies we guard against crooks!"

His mother frowned in worry. "Vigilante justice is dangerous, Garfield. What if you got hurt by some of those street thugs?"

"You should leave crime fighting to the police." Beast Boy withered under his father's stern words. "Where are your friends?"

"Uhm, they're standing right there?" He pointed out group of teenagers in what looked like Halloween costumes. His parents immediately smiled, however tightly. They might be the wrong sort of kids but they didn't wish to offend anyone.

"Mom, Dad, this is most of the rest of the team, Cyborg, Starfire and Raven. Robin's out of town with Batman for a few days"

"Batman?" His mother questioned. "Why are you looking at me like I've grown a second head?" the academic asked, seeing the wide-eyed look her son was giving her. The others looked similarly surprised.

"Batman? You don't know _Batman_?" Beast Boy flailed, physically expressing the astonishment the other teens felt. "The Dark Knight? Bats? The Caped Crusader? The masked wonder who runs around Gotham City beating up various crooks and assorted super villains?" Nothing. Not a flicker of recognition. "He wears a lot of black? A appropriately bat-like cowl? A bat bike, bat-mobile, bat-boat-"

"Is he some sort of action figure or cartoon character on tv?"

"No, Mom! He's Batman! He's only as famous as Superman!" Seeing only blank looks he sighed and shook his head. "You don't even Know- Ugh. Never mind. Guys, these are my parents. Drs. Mark and Marie Logan."

"Pleased to meetcha," Cyborg said with a grin. He politely shook both their hands.

"It is indeed an honor," Starfire stepped forward and also shook hands, pleased that she had mastered the particular earth custom.

"Hi." Raven said, less than enthusiastically, making no move forward to greet the couple.

"So, uhh you want to come over?" Beast Boy asked.

"Yes, I think we'd better. I'd like to speak with your headmaster or principle or whatever your school has." Their son face-faulted. Cyborg held back a snigger and Raven shook her head.

"Fine," he ground out between his teeth and headed off down the street towards the dock closest to the island. A short walk later led them to the dock. The Drs. Logan looked around.

"I don't see any boats. Is there a tunnel or are we waiting for a ferry?" his mother politely asked the red-headed girl with the unusual tan. She recalled her name was Starfire and wondered if that was a nick name. Starfire smiled sweetly, pleased to be the one to answer a question for once.

"Usually we fly across," she explained. The Tamaranian lifted off a few feet into the air. "Since Cyborg and Robin cannot fly, one of us usually helps the others across."

"Uh..."

"Have I explained improperly?" Earth customs were still new to the alien girl. She was terribly worried she'd broken some taboo or other. She whispered the question to her friends and held her hands anxiously.

"No," Raven assured her.

"Then why is she looking at me like I have a Tellerian water-leech stuck to my face."

".....You can fly?" Star turned in the air. Beast Boy's father had asked the question. The alien girl smiled once more and nodded.

"Yes. All Tamaranians can fly".

"Ta- Ta- Tamerwhat?"

"Tamaranian. Star's an alien," Beast Boy explained matter-of-factly. His parents' eyes widened further. Raven decided this would be the best moment to levitate as well. Predictably, the Logans stepped away from her in slight fear. She caught Beast Boy's amused smirk and suppressed one of her own. These people were hopelessly naïveté.

"Are you an alien was well?"

"No," she said as coldly as possible. The woman had no right to know anything about Raven other than that she was a Titan, in the dark girl's opinion. She wasn't sure what she thought about her teammate's parents, but thus far they had been less than impressive. Beast Boy caught her eye; his look requesting her help ferrying his parents across the water. She nodded subtly.

"So, uh, if you guys don't mind, Raven can take you across."

"O...ok," His father answered. Beast Boy gave his dad a smile which turned into a grin as black energy formed around them. His mother clung to his father's jacket sleeve as they were lifted off the ground and carried over the water. Beast Boy turned into an eagle and flew beside them. On the island, Star let Cyborg down and Raven let the Logan's down. Raven adjusted her hood so it fell over her face further - this time she couldn't hide her smirk. Freaking the couple out had been...fun. Perhaps she would tell them she was half-demon; but the timing would have to be perfect. Beast Boy shifted into his normal shape in midair and landed on two feet next to his shell shocked parents.

Feeling much more confident that they'd take the 'super hero thing' more seriously, he gestured to the massive T-shaped door. "Would you like to come in?" wordlessly they nodded.

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

A/N) And thus ends ch2. if you got this far, Scroll down a bit more and Smack the button. It likes it, really

Thanks:

Bob-chan: thanks! Yes, Batman's in it He's so delightfully grouchy! And so grave when he's Batman. I see him as much lighter when he's Bruce. I really want to write something where Star _does_ meet Bats. That'd be too funny. Not sure if I'll include it in here or as a stand alone. Perhaps an epilogue?

Anonymous type person: Whoa. This is the post positive feedback I have received for a fic ever. I was worried I wasn't doing justice since I don't have a TT beta (unlike my other fandoms where I inflict my fic on my friends with reckless abandon, heh) if my style is readable it's because I've had a number of patient souls who've whipped me into shape I've just come from a fandom where the core group of authors were _scathing_ if you didn't write intelligently. A gauntlet, but it has greatly help me write I think. There are some good fics here if you dig around a bit. I've included a few I find enjoyable in my favorites (There are more, I've just been bad about adding them ;)

Spandexmonkey - :D reviews are So very encouraging. Thank you! I hope you like where I've gone with it.

Slayergirl1362 – thanks! Also glad you like the other fic as well :D Yeah I plan on having more Raven in this. How were BB's parent's reactions?

DBAinsw, TigerHelix, Zubby, Calisto and Cradlerobber Speedo-kun - Thank you for leaving encouraging reviews :D I hope you liked the second part as well.


	3. Chapter 3

a/n) Ok so I did something with formatting that FFN did NOT like at all and as a result is ate about 4-5 sentences and squished two paragraphs together O.o; I uploaded it twice. So I apologize for that, thanks to the people who said things looked odd/didn't make sense. I've read this so many times I didn't see any errors when I loaded it up.

Since someone asked: I got mark and Marie from titanstower dot com and from uhh issue 12 or something where they were showing a flashback of BB being bitten by a green monkey. (Issue 12 being of teen titans the current series out now, not the class old comic :) )

* * *

Chapter 3

Cyborg opened the door and strode inside. "Honey, I'm home!" he called jovially.

"Cyborg, to whom are you speaking?" Star asked as she floated by the tall teen's shoulder.

The metallic Titan laughed. "It's just an expression Star," he explained. "Hey I know!" he snapped and a light bulb turned on over his head. "Why don't you greet Robin that way sometime?"

"Really?"

"Yeah!" the cybernetic teen grinned.

"Ok! I shall do that the next time I return home!" The Tamaranian flew ahead into the tower. Raven shook her head.

"That was evil," she commented.

"Yeah," Cyborg agreed without a hint of repentance or regret.

"Robin is going to flip" Beast Boy added with a chuckle. Cy shrugged; there was no denying his genius.

"You really shouldn't use Starfire's naivety like that," the dark girl pointed out. Again Cyborg gave a carefree shrug.

"That won't make it any less amusing to watch when Robin gets back, does it?" he asked to innocently.

"That's true," Raven and Beast Boy answered at once. They gave one another a look then shrugged it off.

"Uhm." The teens froze, having forgotten the Drs Logan.

"Come on up," Beast Boy invited, feeling far more confident than he had been feeling earlier that morning.

"You still aren't out of getting razzed about your name, man" Cyborg whispered just as they entered the elevator. The green Titan's ears drooped. Cyborg smirked silently. The elevator doors opened onto the top floor and Starfire flew out, executing a few lazy spirals as she went.

"So, uh this is home." Beast Boy trotted down the steps towards the large couch. His parents followed almost cautiously. "This is the living room I guess. We hang here when we're not training. So...can I get you anything?"

Their shook their heads, "No."

"Oh, well, uhm. Hey! I'm gonna go grab something from my room and then maybe I'll give you the five cent tour. I'll be right back, ok?" they nodded. Beast Boy ran back up the steps and headed toward his room. He had some news clippings and pictures of the team he wanted to show his parents in a box there. Black energy in the shape of a raven's talons grabbed him and sucked him through the wall as he passed Star's room.

"Eek!" He was dropped unceremoniously to the floor. "Geez. Warn a guy, will you?" He stood and faced his three friends. "What?"

"Dude?!" It was both question and exclamation and summed up his and the others' feelings in one word, rather well.

Beast Boy sighed and clapped a hand over his eyes, "I knew this was going to be a mess." He peered between his fingers. Star had her hand raised, plainly wishing to ask a question. "Star?"

"I could not help but notice; your parents are not green,"

Cyborg chuckled, "I always though Martians were supposed to be green,"

"My parents are not Martians," Beast Boy glared.

"They may as well be. Dude, they don't know who Superman is." Cy shook his head.

"How long have they lived in Africa anyway?" Raven asked.

"Africa? Where is that?"

"Who said anything about Africa?"

Beast Boy held up his hands as if to try to physically stop the questions. "Let me explain ok?"

"Yes, please." Starfire looked pensive.

"OK, I'm surprised that they don't even know who _Superman_ is, but maybe I shouldn't be. My parents have spent most of my life in Africa. They both work with genetics; Mom mostly with plants, Dad with animals. They research cross species diseases and exotic cures and stuff like that. Usually they work in the middle of the jungle so they're pretty much cut off from the rest of the world."

"I'll say,"

"But they are not green?"

"He'll explain if you two refrain from commenting."

"Thanks, Raven. Mom and Dad are also pretty obsessive, so even if they'd been working in Gotham they probably wouldn't know a lot of what's going on." He shook his head and continued "Anyway, when I was really young they were researching in Upper Lamumba and they had me with them. I got sick with one of those rare cross-species diseases,"

"How ironic," Raven dead-panned. Beast Boy arched a brow as if to say '_now _who's commenting?' but continued.

"Yeah. Anyway, I was cured, but uh, I ended up green." He chuckled, thinking back on his parents' complete clueless-ness. "I knew they were out of touch but I didn't know how out they were. Ask them anything about their research and they'll give you the up to date play by play of everyone in their fields, but ask them anything in current events and they don't have much of a clue." He frowned, "actually, they don't seem to have _any_ clue."

"That's putting it mildly." Cyborg couldn't believe anyone could be _that_ cut off from current events. Heck, Superman wasn't all that current.

"No wonder you didn't have much hope that they'd heard of us," Raven commented.

"They knew about your ability to become animals though, did they not?"

"Yep," Beast Boy answered Starfire. The alien girl frowned again.

"Then I am not sure I understand why they would not take interest in the activities of other super powered beings on your world. There seem to be quite a number. And surely they know people such as myself have come to Earth? Is it not true that "Alien Invasions" by people with strange powers is frequently a topic of movies and television?" Star made little quote marks with her fingers. "Surely they would not have missed global reaction to the first visitors from other planets?"

"Superman is Kryptonian Star, and he's been living here for years. They apparently missed him completely," Raven pointed out. Star nodded thoughtfully.

"Yes I suppose that is the truth. But why have they not kept themselves informed of others who have powers, Beast Boy?"

"Yeah, B, what's with that?"

"Well," He scratched the back of his head, "Denial isn't just a river in Egypt."

"I am confused,"

"I'll explain later, Star," Raven told the alien girl. Starfire nodded. "They need to get over that denial. It is pointless to deny the truth."

"I know! You don't have to tell me!"

"But why, dawg? I mean you're powers are kinda cool. What's wrong?" He grew serious and the others could see a flash of anger in his organic eye. "They aren't ashamed or anything, are they?"

"No! No, no. They're not ashamed of me. But they blame themselves for bringing me along with them and causing it in the first place. They have no idea why things happened they way they did or why I can do what I can. They're scientists and that bothers them," he shrugged, "So they sort of just...ignore my powers like you'd ignore I dunno," he thought for a moment, "a giant mole on someone's face or a big scar or something I guess."

"They do not seek the answer as to why you can become so many animals?"

"You know, you'd think that as science geeks they would? They haven't though. Anyway, getting back on topic, they sent me back here to go to school when I was a bit older. They wanted me out of harms way or something,"

"Ha! And you went and became a superhero!" Cyborg laughed. "Oh that's great! Now _there_ is some irony for you."

"Heh, yeah. Anyway I wanted to show them some pictures and stuff." He headed for the door, somewhat worried about leaving his parents alone for such a long time.

"Oh! May I show them my book of scraps?" Starfire asked. She clasped her hands together, eyes shining with hope.

"Uhm, sure."

"Oh wonderful! I shall complete the final few pages and show it!"

"I'm going to go play some video games. If your Pop wants to see the garage I'd be glad to show him around. Take him for a spin in the T-car even."

"Thanks Cy," Beast Boy smiled and headed down the hall towards his room.

"I knew you were overreacting,"

"Ack! Raven! Stop sneaking up on me!" Beast Boy clutched his chest and gasped dramatically. Raven looked at him evenly and he dropped the act.

"Think they'll adjust?" She asked. He nodded absently as he entered his room. The empath followed. Beast Boy opened a drawer in his desk and began rummaging around.

"Yeah." He answered after a moment. He withdrew a large shoebox held together with duct tape and a rubber band to keep the lid on. He snagged a few pictures off his desk and book shelf and tucked them under his arm. "Well, I hope so. This is actually kinda weird." Raven followed. "The whole not knowing thing? That's just...odd." He was now used to people knowing and accepting the idea of superheroes. "When I came over here for the first time, I remember being amazed by the idea of superheroes. I guess I kinda forgot that. But I assumed Mom and Dad knew about it."

"It's...weird, but whatever. They say that 7% of the country doesn't know who the current president is at any given time," Raven commented.

"Yeah. Lamumba isn't exactly Metropolis or Gotham. No real need for super-powered beings there." He stopped mid-stride, suddenly remembering a picture of the full team he'd left tacked on his bulletin board. "Forgot something," he explained and darted back the way he'd come. Raven watched him go for a moment then continued down the hall.

Raven reentered the main room and spotted Cyborg and Starfire huddled around Beast Boy's mother, looking intently at something. Cyborg wore the sort of grin Raven usually saw just before he was about to give Beast Boy a hard time. Starfire wore a look of pure glee. Raven couldn't see what they were looking at and was too far away to hear the explanation. Curious, she took a step into the room only to stop when she realized her book was missing from where she'd placed it on the counter before. Dr. Mark Logan was idly flipping through the pages. A ripple of annoyance touched the girl's calm as her eyes glowed white from under the shadow of her hood. The book glowed black and then flew across the room to her waiting hand. Raven ignored the surprised look on Dr. Logan's face as she quickly looked the book over and tucked it under one arm. _'Well, they're related,' Raven thought, 'They both get into my things and annoy me. This will not be a pleasant visit if they have the same sense of humor,'_

"What's that? It was interesting."

"The book of Azar," Raven replied coldly. It was the possession that meant the most to her and she did not like people thumbing through casually it for a bit of light reading.

"Rae!" Cyborg called from the couch, "You gotta see this!" he was waving a set of old Polaroid's around. "BB's baby pictures!" he cackled in the sort of evil glee reserved for teasing one's friends. Raven arched a brow, why would see what to see pictures of Beast Boy as a toddler; he acted as if he had the maturity level of one often enough. Choosing to refrain from commenting she wandered over.

"This is Gar first learning to walk," His mother explained causing Star to squeal over the picture. The door opened then admitting Beast Boy. He took one look, saw the pictures, Cyborg and Star and immediately knew what was going on.

"I hate my life," he muttered.

"Friend Beast Boy! You were most adorable as a small child."

"Thanks, Star," he answered in a monotone.

"Awww look! It's little Garfield and a fwuffy teddy bear," Cyborg cooed.

"That's Mr. Snuggles," his mother supplied, so her son's utter mortification.

"It is a most precious stuffed animal," Starfire agreed. Cyborg seemed to be having a fit trying not to laugh.

"Excusemegottagocheckonsomkething," the teen said before rushing out of the room at a speed even the Flash would have found quick. A muffled laugh was just audible from the other side of the door.

"Do you have to show pictures?" Beast Boy whined.

"Oh, Garfield," His mother shook her head. An exclamation of 'Garfield! Bwahah!' could be heard from down the hall. The green teen frowned. Sighing, his mother collected the pictures, with a promise to show the rest later. Raven drifted off to one side of the room and opened the book of Azar.

'_Like heck you will,'_ Beast Boy thought to himself. _'not if I can help it.'_

"What's in the box?" His dad asked.

"What? Oh! Yeah! These are a bunch of news clips on us and a bunch of pictures of the team. Though you might to see 'em."

"Well, let's see then," His dad took a place on the couch. Beast Boy cleared off the table and began pulling slightly wrinkled bits of news paper out.

"Uh let's see...this is us fighting Plasmus,"

"How did you get pictures?" his dad asked. The photo showed the team mid-battle in a warehouse of some sort.

"Security cameras I think. I dunno. It was in the paper."

"He's ugly," his mother commented. Across the room Raven smirked. It was something of a running joke between the team just how progressively uglier Plasmus seemed to become.

"And this is us fighting him again and this is cinderblock, and those are the HIVE kids."

A shadow fell across Raven's open book, blocking her light. "Star," Raven greeted.

"Perhaps," Star said in a low voice, "we should let Beast Boy and his parents be for awhile? I also think perhaps we should collect Cyborg and entreat him to do the same." Raven closed the book and stood. The two left the room silently as Beast Boy was trying to explain who Slade was.

"I got the feeling that our friend was displeased," Starfire said after the door had closed behind them. Raven pulled back her hood and stopped in the hall, waiting for Star to continue. "He did not seem happy that his mother was showing us pictures of his youth."

"No," Raven agreed.

"Of all of you I think I may know the most about your background Raven," Star said thoughtfully. "We shared much when we switched bodies. I thank you for trusting me with so much of your history." Raven blinked, the only outward sign of surprise. She inclined her head, acknowledging the thanks. "I know very little about the others which is why I was so eager to see the pictures. Robin has no family except the Batman. Friend Cyborg was in an accident and is now partially mechanical. But I knew very little of Beast Boy's past until a little while ago. I fear I am a bad friend," she concluded morosely.

"No, you're not," Raven assured her after a moment. "You accept them even though you don't know everything about them. Would you change your opinion if you did know?"

"Of course not!" Raven smiled slightly and let the statement speak for itself. "I suppose you are right," Star admitted after thinking her friend's words over.

"Besides," Raven continued, "I think having an...unusual and somewhat unknown background comes with being people like us."

" 'Super-heroes' is the term I believe?"

Raven had never been comfortable with that particular appellation, but nodded anyway. "Besides," she said wryly, "You haven't exactly been forward about yourself, _princess_." Starfire made a little sound of distress, green eyes going wide and looking around the hall wildly. "Relax," Raven said.

"I do not wish to be treated differently," Star insisted.

"I won't say anything," Raven assured her, continuing down the hall, "It's not my story to tell." She rapped lightly on Cyborg's door. The teen opened it, and upon seeing his female teammates instead of Beast Boy looking for vengeance, his evil grin softened a bit.

"Ladies," he greeted.

"Lay off Beast Boy for a bit," Raven said in a tone that brooked no argument.

"Yes friend, in the interest of peace in our home please do not aggravate Beast boy further right now. He is doing the...bonding thing? Yes?"

Raven nodded. "He's telling his parents all about being on the team."

"Ok, ok, I'll lay off...for awhile," Cyborg conceded. Raven nodded and walked off. Star smiled brightly and floated after her. The mechanical teen sighed and headed off towards the Garage to give the T-car its weekly tune-up and polish. Raven reached her door and realized Star was still hovering behind her. The empath could feel waves of uncertainty emanating from the alien girl. Raven closed her eyes and sighed. _'At least I've already meditated today and I don't really have anything else planned,'_ she thought to herself.

"Want to come in?" Raven asked. The Tameranian princess clasped her hands together in delight at the invitation into Raven's personal domain and nodded.

"Oh yes, if it would not be too much of an inconvenience. I fear if I am left of my own I may be tempted to return to the common room and see more pictures Beast Boy does not wish for me to see." Raven opened her door and stepped aside to let Starfire pass, wondering all the while how the girl could say so much in a single breath. Of course Starfire could also simply fly out of the planet's atmosphere and travel between worlds faster than the speed of light without protection from the vacuum of space, so perhaps it wasn't that astounding.

"Do you think Robin will ever take me to meet the Batman?" Starfire opened Raven's curtains to let the sunlight in then perched on the edge of the bed near the foot. "He said I could not accompany him this time, but would ask if I could in the future." Raven shrugged and sat on the opposite end of the bed.

"It's possible," she said, "I'm not sure what Batman wanted with Robin this time."

"I offered to assist, but Robin said I could not help." Raven nodded slowly. She had the sneaking suspicion that Robin wasn't going back to Gotham to be Robin. He was going back to Wayne Manor to be Dick Grayson. The empath only knew the truth because she'd had a very clear premonition upon meeting Robin. In the vision she'd seen the truth of their identities. Robin, in customary Robin style, had completely flipped out and sworn her to silence she'd already intended to keep.

"Do you know about Robin's past?" Starfire asked when the silence had dragged on for a while. Raven nodded hesitantly.

"A little. I had a vision when I met him. It involved his past. I promised not to say anything."

"I understand," Star said. Of all the titans Raven could be the most trusted with a secret.

"So..." Raven said when silence had reigned again. If Star had nothing else to talk about, maybe she could meditate more before the Logan's left and Cyborg and Beast Boy resumed their constant banter.

"I am slightly confused by Beast Boy's parents." Star frowned again. She supposed she could understand a little of Beast Boy's apparent embarrassment; her parents did embarrassing things as well, though the sharing of pictures was not one such thing.

"Truthfully?" Raven replied candidly, "So am I. But they explain his behavior almost entirely."

"Please explain,"

"Beast Boy loves attention."

"This is true," Star said with a sly grin. Raven shared the smirk for a moment.

"His parents think they did something horrible to him."

"But he has been given a wonderful gift!"

"He thinks that way too. He may be annoying but he likes helping people. His parents think they've done something horrible to him though."

"Ah! I understand! He perhaps seeks to be the center of attention because his parents do not acknowledge his abilities fully."

Raven nodded. For all her innocence, Star wasn't stupid; she just didn't think in cynical terms as Raven and to a small extent the other Titans did. "Exactly. To them he's still the little kid who got sick and had to be saved."

* * *

a/n)Thanks! Oh. Wow. I have never received so many reviews on a single chapter of a fic EVER. I love you people! dances around happily, pink cape swishing cookies for everyone! :D

Thank you –deep breath- Spandexmonkey, defafaeth Mechqua, scorpio serpent, scoodoo58, clouded dragon, Angel-star727, eevee-shadows, calisto, beastfire, 002, pink hooligan, Wild Spirit of Darkness, Sweet Nymph, The-Shapshifting-Sweethe, amber, ARainy, Starfiretheinvincible, Lovely White Violets, drowningthoughts, cradlerobber-speedo-kun,

Tigerhelix- Yeah. I figure they're almost Robin!obsessive. and they've been in the middle of a Jungle for the better part of at least the last 15 years or so. I know people just like this :P

ThessalyD- well, some. But honestly not much more than what's in the show. Well maybe a tiny bit more. I don't want to pair up all the characters (well, yeah I do :P) there will be slight raebb robstar but no declarations of love or sudden realizations that they are deeply in love with anyone or stuff.

Slayergirl1362 – whew! Glad you liked the reactions. Kinda felt I went out on limb there, but that them completely not knowing anything would be the most amusing. Yeah they don't get out much. Hoped you liked the raven bits in this chap. Rae and Star tapped me on the shoulder and said "we want a conversation" well, raven kinda just glared and Star did all the talking but you know ;) the half-demon bit cometh Bwahahahahahaha

Blowfish the Monkey Tamer- heh not realy idiots so much as they're just UBERgeeks who never leave their work and are sort of spacey-smarties to begin with.

Instant Coffe (x2!) :D dude, thanks for the huge props. I try hard to keep 'em IC (even as I take huge liberties with backstory! Mwahaha) Homework is Teh Suck. You have my condolences. School starts back up for me Tuesday (bwahah no classes on Mondays! I rule!) Yeah the Logan's did start to become fairly dursleyish heee. They're not as mean though. Got the names from titanstower and uhh the comic I got the other day. Mark and marie? Geh. I don't particularly like those names but eh, what are ya gonna do? I just thank X'hal they didn't give cartoon Raven comic Raven's earrings xx

Keystone- :D Ive been watching JLU so I really wanted to write in Bruce happy you liked that exchange and the cy-bb ones as well. Thank you for reading!

Katergator – well I was usually one of the ones with the wips, and when you're one of the ones whipping you don't _dare_ step out of line ; but they were fantastic at telling me when things were lame and correcting my abysmal punctuation as well as telling me what rocked. Yeah fic writing has helped my writing immensely, unfortunately none of my college papers were for creative writing classes (they were usually quite boring :P ) I think it will help with grad-school (yes I am that old :P ) Glad you liked the story! Hope you stick around!

Bob-chan- sorry for another long wait for updates. Hmmmm yesssss. Been pondering star-meets-Bats (usually when sitting in traffic or other such boring places) I have a few ideas and I'll work it in somehow. It's too funny of an idea not to do.

Daemonstrueform- Wednesday? O.o? well, glad you like the fic :D

ppTeenBubbles- uhm well I don't know if this is before or after Terra. I haven't decided ;;; but I kinda suspect it's after. Sorry I am not bringing Terra back. I'm not a Terra hater (cartoon terra was really, really freakey. She was great!) but I'm not bringing her back. That's been done by a lot of people and its not something I planned on writing. There are bbrae hits if you see them, but I'm not planning on shoving it down everyone's throats,l so feel free to ignore them. They _are_ friends and everyone is a close teammate so you cannot ignore that because you hate rae/bb.

Carrot the LuvMachine - :D thanks! Again I'm glad people seem to like BB's folks. Hope you liked the update!!

Whew! Dang. Like I said, the most reviews on a chapter EVER. I have a novel length fic (not in TT) and the total reviews is like 80-something over 8 chapters (and 75,000 words, xx must.finish.fic.eventually)

Thanks!!!!!!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N) ok, an update! Wheee! More Raven-Starfire friendship moments, more with Robin in Gotham and Beast Boy gives his parents a tour. Rob-Star fluffyness, you've been forewarned!

So school started and I have lots of work for that, but I also have started to play City of Heroes. I have my own chars but some friends have started a team of Titan look-alikes. My Raven has flight and teleportation and shoots black energy. I am happy. And the coolest part? Playing video games counts as research. Booyah.

Fact I was recently informed of: Alfred is James Bond O.o; no, really! he's ex-intelligence. Bats learned how to be a detective by watching alfred. Isn't that just SO cool? ok, moving along.

* * *

Chapter 5

"Would you please hold still?"

The dark haired boy stopped fidgeting and stood still. "Sorry," the teen grumbled. Bruce had been right; he had grown. As a result none of Dick's formal tuxedoes fit anymore. Therefore instead of catching a nap before the evening's patrol or playing a few rounds of Gamestation, he had to stand in a stuffy tailor's shop and be poked, prodded and measured. "I hate these things," he muttered.

"Of that I am well aware," Alfred said wryly. Dick sighed. A fleeting thought occurred and he suppressed a chuckle. He almost wished Cinderblock or Plasmus would attack. Well...maybe not.

"That's it," the tailor said finally. Dick started tugging off the coat and pants; the sooner he was out of the monkey suit, the better. If he'd thought to bring his tux from Jump City he wouldn't have had this problem. The tailor chuckled at the youth's obvious anxiousness to be out of the suit. "I'll wrap this up and you can get back to your game station," the tailor winked, "Or girlfriend perhaps?" Dick blushed deep scarlet.

"Uh, no," he said and quickly exited. He hopped into the car outside and blew out a breath. He let his head fall back against the leather seat of the Rolls Royce. After dinner he and Batman had gone out on patrol. There was a new tension that Robin had not remembered ever being there before and it bothered him. He closed his eyes and thought back to the previous evening...

The boy wonder sailed through the air, black and yellow cape flapping softly behind him. He hit the peak of his arc and released the cable, landing with a soft thud on the Gotham rooftop. The air was thick here; full of fumes from cars, trucks and whatever the industrial parks spewed into the night sky. Added to this was a muggy heat that wasn't oppressive but just heavy enough to annoy after a long night on patrol. Robin took a breath and surveyed the city. Lights from downtown reflected off the dust in the air, creating a nebulous glow around the city's center. The acrid smell was both alien and familiar; a theme for the evening.

It had been a long time since Robin had patrolled a city. He'd done it a little bit in Jump City in the beginning, but his teammates had been reluctant to join him. Forcing them to patrol in at night and then be alert all day was like pulling teeth. However after a few nights it became rapidly apparent to Robin that Jump City wasn't nearly as rough as Gotham was. He'd finally abandoned the practice, finding that spending his free time training and responding to alerts worked much better in his new environment. Police Chief Perry was quite good at his job and the local police force wasn't nearly as busy as Gotham's was. While Gordon appreciated the assistance of Batman, Robin and Batgirl, Robin got the distinct feeling that Perry wasn't as receptive. One lesson Robin had learned from his time in Gotham was that ticking off the local authorities was a BAD idea. If he wanted the Titans to be a positive force in the city, stepping on toes was not the best of moves.

It was hard to break the old habits at first, but Robin had finally come to the realization that he best served the people as a sort of special weapon to be used on the more extreme cases. Raven had once likened them to firemen; it was a fairly good metaphor. Still, he was used to being constantly busy and worried that he'd 'go soft' sitting around in a tower all day. To avoid that he'd started a brisk training regimen for everyone, much to the chagrin of the others on the team. That had lead to further realizations. For one, fighting as a team was much different from fighting solo or even as a pair. Looking back, the Titans' first few battles had been abysmal.

Tonight's rooftop and back alley battles with the unlawful had been much more run of the mill than the 'super villains' he'd become used to. But like the air it had been both familiar and alien. Robin hadn't fought alongside his mentor for a long time. It felt strange as he fell into once-familiar patterns. The fights were also dirtier in Gotham; fewer enemies with unusual powers and many more with knives and firearms. Robin had dispatched them with seeming ease, but it still had taken him a bit to readjust to the city's dark violence.

Another, softer, thud of boots landing on the roof drew his thoughts back to the present. His mentor strode forward, eyes narrowed as he scanned the alleyways below. _'I have a long way to go,´ _Robin reflected. Batman's footfalls were softer, his moves more precise, his accuracy more deadly, his detective skills keener. _'but I think I'm getting there.' _Batman had been doing this almost longer than Dick had been alive, and certainly longer than Robin had existed. But Batman had had to start somewhere after all, and, Alfred Pennyworth the ex-secret agent aside, Batman hadn't exactly had a teacher. Robin knew he'd improved since he'd last been in Gotham. He'd collared three rather brutish characters that evening alone. And yet...

"You rely on them." Robin wasn't sure of the statement's meaning, good or bad. Robin nodded after a moment. It was true. He knew he'd been alone or with Batman all night but his first impulses had been to coordinate with a teammate. Despite his hard training, was he getting soft? Batman had worked alone before Robin had entered the picture. After he'd arrived on the scene, Robin had been trained as solo fighter who just happened to fight with an ally in close proximity. Tonight had been no exception either. The Batman was fully capable of handling the bad guys himself, making Robin feel just the least bit superfluous.

"That isn't a bad thing," Batman told him. The wind picked up, rustling their capes. The sound was almost lost in the rumble of the predawn traffic far below. The dark cowl turned his way and the white eyes of the mask narrowed as the Batman considered. "It's made you a leader," he said again in that even tone. One eye widened in a look of extreme amusement. "You wanted to tell me what to do." Robin winced; it was the truth. He'd barely stopped himself several times. Silence reigned as the first hint of dawn crept over the horizon, brilliant red-gold washing out the neon lights of the city.

"You're not me," Batmen said, eyes focused on the horizon. "Don't be bound by my example. You have to find your way as I had to find mine." Robin blinked a few times, not expecting such profound conversation.

"Master Dick?"

Dick's eyes snapped open. Looking around he saw that the car was headed out of the city. Alfred was looking back at him through the rear-view mirror. He hadn't even heard the Englishman enter the car and hadn't noticed it'd begun to move. Careless.

"Might I inquire as to what is on your mind, young sir?" The young man frowned, uncertain. He quickly decided that Alfred was probably the better person to discuss what he was feeling with.

"It's a bit odd to be back is all," he started to explain. The ex-secret-agent cum butler glanced back at him but said nothing, inviting further commentary. "I guess I'm just not used to being back with Bruce," He fidgeted for a moment. "I feel like I should feel at home but..."

"But you don't feel that way."

"Yeah. It's weird. I feel like I'm being ungrateful or something. I...do things differently since I met my friends." Robin keenly felt as if he'd somehow done something wrong. He knew he hadn't but he still felt an odd guilt.

"Master, Dick, you've done nothing wrong and you certainly aren't disappointing Master Bruce," Alfred said as if reading his thoughts. Dick smiled slightly; the man had done it so often when he'd first come to Wayne Manor he'd asked if Alfred was a telepath. Instead he'd been told the refined man's detective skills were a result of his previous job with British intelligence (which was just as impressive).

"Thanks Alfred." Robin wondered how the older gentleman always seemed to know what to say. Actually, it was fairly obvious; years of training with a much younger Bruce Wayne. Alfred parked the car and Dick scrambled out to help carry the groceries into the house. He smirked as he set the bags down and began unloading their contents. Fresh fruits, vegetables and a few cuts of meat promised that he'd eat well in the next few days. Definitely better than the Titans back in Jump City where Pizza was its own food group and a staple part of the their diet. Alfred's brow arched in an unspoken question. "Just thinking of my friends," he explained, "there is no way they'll be eating anything like this."

"They sound like a very entertaining group,"

"They are. They're good people." Dick sat at the kitchen table and snacked on an apple as he described his friends to the butler. "Beast Boy and the Flash would probably get along. BB's a bit of a cut up, and he likes hitting on girls. Cy can be a bit hot-headed but normally he's a really easygoing guy. BB's the least serious and I'm the most," Dick ducked his head in embarrassed acknowledgement of his obsessive nature, "Cy's somewhere in the middle."

"A good balance,"

"Yeah. The other two are Raven and Star. Raven " The teen shook his head. "She's very dark, and she's sort of cynical but she also probably has the coolest head out of all of us. She's not much of a people person so she keeps mostly to herself. Star is the exact opposite, always happy and cheerful. Star's really sweet. She can totally kick butt, but I don't think she has a malicious bone in her. She's new here so she doesn't really get the culture and I've been trying to explain things. You know, show her the ropes, teach her the slang, all that." He rubbed the back of his head idly.

Alfred noted the far off expression on young Master Grayson's face and smiled to himself. Master Bruce entered the room a few minutes later, just missing the tail end of the conversation. He took one look at Dick and crossed his arms and leaned back against the counter.

"So," he said, alerting Dick to his presence. The Boy jumped in his seat and whirled around. "Who's the girl?"

* * *

"Ok, this is going...better," Beast Boy thought to himself. It was finally sinking in to his parents that he was a superhero. Of course this was causing all sorts of other problems. Now that they actually believed him, they weren't too happy about it; after all they'd specifically sent him away from Africa so he wouldn't be in harm's way.

"This is the tro- er Evidence room. We keep some things we take from the bad guys here since it's a bit safer than if it were locked up in a police station or something." He explained, sweating a little. Robin called this the evidence room, but he and Cyborg called it the 'trophy' room. Even if he and Cyborg joked about it sometimes, they really didn't think of anything they took as 'prizes'. If his parents thought that _he_ thought it was all a game... He took them on a quick circuit showing them Control Freak's remote, the puppet master's body stealing thingie ( "Thingie? That doesn't sound like much of a technical term, Gar."), numerous pieces of Slade's robots, and Mumbo's broken wand among other things. His parents made few comments causing their son to begin to sweat nervously; they had begun the 'silent phase'.

The 'silent phase' was when they (silently) scowled disapproval just prior to lecturing and grounding him. Perhaps if he showed them how much the team actually trained they'd lighten up. Or at least believe that they didn't just run around playing a very dangerous game of cops and robbers with the city criminals.

"Come on, I'll show you some of the training rooms," he motioned for them to follow and headed down the hallway. _"I never thought I'd be glad Robin has us train so much,"_ he thought to himself. He pushed open the doors and flipped on the lights in one of the smaller rooms. "As you can see we have a lot of exercise equipment and remote drones we train against." He grinned. They didn't. _Crap._ Well, if they weren't convinced that he knew what he was doing, maybe he could appeal to their scientific sides.

"Uh, so let's go see the mainframe." They stepped into the elevator and Beast Boy was acutely aware of his parents' eyes on the back of his head. He tried to whistle, but the sound echoed in the elevator and the temperature seemed to drop a little bit more. Oh they were pissed. _Double Crap._ The elevator doors opened and he sprinted outside and down the hall.

He reached the mainframe door and paused. Cyborg had seriously restricted his ability to access any of the Tower computers unless they were under attack – then they had bigger things to worry over than the youngest Titan downloading a virus into the system. He quickly tapped in his access code and shut his eyes and we hit the last key, hoping that he'd gain access.

"Access Denied. Invalid entry code."

He could practically feel the disapproval over his shoulder. Quickly he typed in his code again.

"Access granted." He let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding and walked in.

"Must have hit the wrong key," he explained with a smile. "So uh this is the mainframe. It runs all the tower system and we have a link to the Authorities and we can access the Justice League's crime files. Well, if we ask J'on nicely."

"J'on?"

"Yeah. He's one of the original Justice League members. He sort of organizes everyone up there in the Watchtower." Beat Boy smiled, "He's a shapeshifter too! Except he's a Martian. I've only spoken with him once and he was looking for Robin, so we really didn't talk long. I was able to do an alien on Star's homeworld so I've wondered if I could maybe do one of the animals from Mars. How cool would that be! I mean-" Seeing that this line of conversation wasn't exactly the best, he stopped. "So, this is our really powerful computer."

"You know, I wonder how fast it could sequence DNA," his father mused. Marie shot him a dirty look which said _'don't encourage him. We're mad remember?'_

"Well we've used it to match DNA before," Beast Boy supplied. He shrugged, "I dunno, Cyborg already had Robin in there so he took a sample from Larry. The screen popped up a couple minutes later. Maybe five? That whole situation was kinda weird. Alternate universes, magic fingers, crayon Godzillas and bending rules of reality..." He trailed off and waved it all away. "It gave me a headache." His father blinked a few times, wondering if he'd actually heard "crayon Godzillas".

"You have a computer that can check an entire strand of DNA to see if it matches another, in five minutes." His mother asked evenly. He gulped and thought maybe showing them the mainframe wasn't such a good idea.

"Uhm, yes? Cyborg would know better. He and Robin do all the technical stuff."

"A group of teenagers has a supercomputer." His mother said as if she couldn't quite grasp the idea.

"Let's go see the Garage," Beast Boy declared and hurried out of the room in a streak of black and purple. "Cy!" he called desperately on his communicator. His friend answered.

"Yo, B."

"Dude, can I show them the garage,"

Cy noted the hint of panic in Beast Boy's plea. "Meet ya there. Not going well, huh?"

"It could be going better. They believe me now, but they're kinda angry."

"Think a trip in the T-sub would help? It's still configured for orbital launch-"

"No! No, I don't think so," he lowered his voice as his parents drew closer. "They freaked when I showed them the computer. I don't know what they'd say if they knew we went into space."

"Ok, then. Cya in a few." The connection closed and Beast Boy stuffed the communicator back into his pocket and offered and exaggerated grin.

* * *

"Friend Raven?"

Raven looked over the edge of her book at Starfire. "Yes?" The two girls were quietly reading in Raven's room. Raven a mystery novel Cyborg had insisted she'd like and Starfire a book from her home world. So far the novel was fairly boring and Raven was sure she knew who the killer was. She casually flipped through the book towards the end and was, unsurprisingly, correct.

"How do you think Beast Boy is fairing?" Starfire closed her book and set it on the bed between them. Raven shrugged and let her own book drop. It was unfortunately boring and couldn't hold her interest any longer.

"I'm not sure. I was half expecting his parents to go ballistic." She held up a stalling hand, "it's another way of saying "freak out" or "get very angry." In any case they haven't yet asked him to move out."

"I sense a 'yet' unsaid." Star replied. Raven closed her eyes and nodded once.

"You do not wish for him to go." It was a statement, not a question. Raven looked back at Star.

"Do you?" she countered. The Tamaranian shook her head.

"No, I do not wish for Beast Boy to leave our home. For all that he can be annoying, he is my friend. Do you think his parents will demand that he return with them?"

"I don't know. They're...odd." The empath frowned in thought. "They could, but at this point I'm not sure he'd go with them."

"That could be...awkward. I do not wish for him to have to choose his family over his friends." Starfire's sad expression brightened into a small, forced smile. "Perhaps it is fitting that I am re-reading the legend of Dariand'r."

"The what?" Raven asked in spite of herself. Starfire brightened, huge green eyes shining. In a flash, she'd scooted over on the bed so she sat next to Raven on the pillows at the head. She placed the surprisingly heavy book in Raven's lap and opened it to the first page. She turned a thin, translucent coversheet to reveal a rather beautiful painting of a group of Tameranians hiking in a rocky area with a few tall, dark purple trees.

"The Legend of Dariand'r," Starfire squealed. "It is what you would call an epic. It is one of my people's greatest stories and my most favorite tale!" She pointed to the female at the head of the line that looked like Starfire herself. "Dariand'r was a brave and valiant warrior and the leader of her tribe long, long ago. Her people where under attack by a great and terrible enemy and prayed for deliverance. She was given a vision by X'Hal and undertook a quest to gain great power and save her people." Starfire pointed to a pale orange Tameranian youth with very dark orange hair who was hiking further down the line. "He is Hallos'ar, a child of an enemy tribe who was raised by Dariand'r's. He has to make a choice between the family he has always known and the family he is actually related to by blood." She snatched the book back and excitedly flipped through to find another picture. With a small cry of glee she handed the book back to Raven. In this picture the same boy stood between two clearly different tribes, looking torn.

"What happens?" Raven asked.

"At the very end, Dariand'r ends up marrying the leader of his tribe. Since they are now one, there is no problem." Starfire sighed, eyes becoming watery and distant. "It is the most romantic of stories," Raven arched a brow and began leafing through the rest of the book. The characters were lovely but Raven couldn't read a word of it. In fact the only thing she knew was that star read top to bottom in columns from left to right. She found another picture and Starfire squealed.

"Who's that?" The Tameranian wasn't wearing much but he was well built by human standards and had long, flowing black hair.

"Risholfor, who Dariand'r marries." She clasped her hands together and sighed again. Raven smirked and continued leafing, stopping to gape a the next picture. It was...bloody. After the relative calm of the previous pictures to see such a graphically depicted battle was startling. And they were using weapons.

"Uh...." She pointed at the page, awaiting explanation.

"The battle of Halfersed! It is one of the most glorious battles ever in Tameranian literature! This legend you would call an Epic? It has several glorious depictions of combat."

"Ok...They're not using starbolts."

"Oh, no." Starfire shook he head, "That is what X'Hal grants to Risholfor and Dariand'r and their people to defeat the great evil. That happens later."

Raven blinked then turned her attention back to the book and began to search for more pictures. "Riiiiight," she said, stretching the word out. More battles and heroic poses of main characters and some quiet scenes followed. Finally towards the end Raven paused on a picture of some sort of celebration. From Starfire's girlish squeal she deduced it was the wedding of the two main characters.

After studying the page for a moment, a thought made her chuckle.

"What?" Starfire asked. Raven looked back at her evenly then decided it'd be worth the reaction to just tell Starfire the thought she'd had.

"This guy sort of looks like how you described future Robin. Er, "Nightwing" as you said he was calling himself." As predicted Starfire's reaction was a priceless combination of stuttering and blushing. Raven decided she might as well go all the way and add "and you know, she kinda looks like you,"

"I had not noticed," Starfire said quickly, but it was clear to Raven that she _had_ had that thought. She quickly collected her book and hovered a few feet above the bed. "Perhaps we should see how Beast Boy and his parents are doing?" she tried changing the subject.

"Sure, why not," Raven shrugged. Star flew to the doorway and waited for Raven. "So what else happens in that story?" she asked. From the pictures she gathered it was something along the lines of the Illiad, Lord of the Rings and ancient mythology mixed together.

"Oh! The battle of Var'noss and then the meeting with X'Hal and the conquest of the plains of Gorbash, The Vardengesh of Knorbak, Sa! De X'Hal Dariand'r kol Fargehth Boh'gats! Greaundgher degesh, Kus kedefoh Neradh- er" she stopped in midair and blushed as she realized she'd begun to rattle on in her own language - and that Raven had stopped walking beside her about ten feet back. The empath smirked slightly and caught up with Star. "I could perhaps translate it for you, if you wish to read it?" Starfire offered. Before Raven could respond, Starfire squealed and held the book close to her chest as a most wondrous idea occurred to her. "Perhaps I could teach you my native language!" She beamed and spun in midair. "Oh, please let me share my world with you as you have with me! I think you will enjoy the glorious battles and honored deeds of my ancestors, and the righteousness and honor of X'Hal and-"

"Ok," Raven finally agreed. Starfire's boundless enthusiasm and good humor washed over the empath like a wave. Raven thought agreeing might stem the tide but instead it only increased. She was suddenly crushed psychically by Star's cheer and physically by her bone-crushing hug. "Can't....breathe..." Starfire released her immediately and Raven staggered a step, the world spinning. She deliberately adjusted her cloak and drew the hood up, feeling the need for the extra isolation just then. Star darted into her room and came back without the book.

"Let us go see how our friend and his parents are getting along," Star suggested. Raven nodded and the two continued down the hall.

* * *

A/N)

Whoo! Thank you for reading! Smack the button!

Thank you to:

Keystone ( going to not only continue but finish the story. Hope freshman year is going ok. It's easier being a college freshman I found)

Slayergirl1362 - hope you liked the raven-star buddy bits in this chap. I updated the other one too!

Sweet Nymph- rob-star fluffyness and some hints o' Rae-BB. Nothing TOO much more extreme than whats on the show. I just can't do total fluff in this one. Too much plot.

Ladymoonfire- Glad you decided to read it I really, really try to keep it close to the show. Glad someone thinks I'm succeeding.

Wild Spirit of Darkness2 – you'll just have to wait and see

Carrot the LuvMachine – Thank you! I love the way they write Star in the show. She's got such a distinctive speech pattern. It's so cute!

Eevee-shadows – some slight robstar, raebb hints. Nothing more than whats in the show. I'm writing a total fluff fic now but I want to really try and be more general with this fic. Glad you like it! hope you liked this update!

Instant Coffee – school started that Monday, but I don't have classes Monday, heeheehee. I just picked up issue 14 of the regular comic. I gotta track down the latest issue of TT Go! Sorry for the wait on this chapter. I have projects and home work and cc; research.

Katergator- Thanks!! Homework is the suck, totally. I intend on Star greeting Robin that way because it makes me chuckle with an evil glee that disturbs others. I try and catch TT weekdays but more often then not I'm still doing school stuff. But I have all the episodes in video downloads. Mmm Torrents are a wondrous thing.

Bob-chan- heh a bit longer than I would have liked xx but here you go! Yeah, the babypictures are going to make a return. Raven and Cyborg need to make comments on non-green BB. Speaking of which, you can see non-gree BB in the current issue of the comic. Blonde?!?

Defafaeth Mechqua, Scorpio Serpent, neo-link tails, Black-blue-072, Lost Inside, El Zero, Blowfish the monkey tamer, darthjag, velvetiine, silvy and cheza is me.

thank you thank you thank you!


	5. Chapter 5

A/N) sorry for the long wait. Yes I am working on the other fic :P Yes I will be completing both.

* * *

Chapter 5

Beast Boy nervously shifted from one foot to the other while the elevator descended. Why was it that elevator rides always seemed so much longer when he wanted them to go faster? He anxiously watched the floor numbers decrement. The doors finally opened and the green Titan strode out into a cavernous work area under the main building. To one side Cyborg was putting the finishing touches on the T-Car's wax. To the other, was the currently dark and empty area Robin used for working on the R-Cycle. The T-Sub loomed in the shadows, silently ready for action.

"Hey Ya'll!" Cyborg greeted, wiping his hands on a rag.

"Hey Cy!" Beast Boy greeted as if it were any ordinary day. The smile didn't quite reach his eyes though, making Cyborg worry. Beast Boy turned back to his parents and gestured to the cavernous room. "So this is the garage. Cy's in charge of most of the stuff down here as well as tower security. Cy actually built most of the stuff in here."

"Really?" His dad politely shook hands with Cyborg again and looked at the T-Car.

"Yessir," Cyborg grinned and leaned against the gleaming car. "She's my baby," he gave the machine one more loving rub with the rag. "Built her from scratch. 100,000 horsepower plasma turbine engine, all-terrain hover jets, anti-lock air breaks, leather seats, power windows and boomin' stereo." With a flourish Cyborg tapped a control on his arm and activated the T-Car's sound system. The massive stereo sprang to life with a heavy backbeat, blowing the Logans' hair back. Beast Boy clutched the nearest tool cart to keep from being blown away by the sound and noticed that anything not nailed down in the garage was vibrating in time to the music.

"It's very nice," Beast Boy's mother shouted.

"What?" Cy asked, putting a hand to his ear.

"I said it's very nice!" she repeated.

"What?"

"It's nice!"

"What? I can't hear you, Let me..."

"I said it's very nice!" his mother screamed - just as the sound went off, of course. She daintily covered her mouth and blinked a few times as her shout echoed across the room.

"Thanks," Cyborg grinned.

"So I take it you're old enough to drive then?" She asked.

"Yes Ma'am," Cyborg replied and whipped out his driver's license. She took it after a moment's hesitation and examined it while Cyborg continued to grin pleasantly. Cyborg was determined to show BB's parents that they were serious super-heroes. From BB's tone moments before and his unusually serious attitude he gathered that the visit was not going well. The team needed the little grass-stain and no way was Cyborg going to let BB's parents be convinced they needed to take him away. Unfortunately his slightly manic grin was beginning to unnerve Beast Boy's mother. "I also built the T-Sub but that's not as much fun as the car," he said confidentially. She smiled and nodded as she handed back the driver's license.

"Right so, do you er, want to see the T-sub?" Beast Boy asked.

"What?" His father asked. "Do you hear that ringing?" he asked his wife. She smiled sweetly and patted his arm.

"The T-what?" She asked her son.

"The T-Sub! He gestured grandly to the submarine as Cyborg helpfully threw the lights on, illuminating the sleek vessel.

"And what does that do?" His father asked, now that the ringing in his ears was going down finally. Beast Boy slumped.

"T-Sub. It's a submarine."

"Right," his father nodded. Beast Boy shot Cyborg a panicked look; he couldn't decipher his Dad's comment. Were they not believing him again or did they believe him completely and that _was_ the problem.

"Well," his father said then cleared his throat, "This is an....interesting place."

"Uh , yeah. I like it," Beast Boy replied.

"Well," his mother interrupted the silence before it became too awkward again, "Gar we'd love to really catch up with you and talk with you for a bit."

"Uhm, ok," Beast Boy slouched towards the elevator door, his parents following. Cyborg frowned as he watched them go, hoping for the best.

He pressed the button and waited for the doors to close, fully expecting another torturously long and silent ride. Unfortunately his parents had other ideas.

"I'm really not sure I like this Garfield," his father told him.

"But-"

"We'd like to take you out to dinner with us. We really do want to catch up and we have some exciting news about the university," his mother added.

"Uhm, ok. Do you want to see the rest of the city before then?" he asked. They smiled for the first time in what seemed like ages.

"Sure,"

"Sound's good," they both agreed. "But first I want to see what state your room is in," his mother said sternly. Beast Boy breathed a sigh of relief that he'd cleaned it and nodded.

The doors swished open and Beast Boy led them down the hall. On the way to his room, Star and Raven turned the corner. Star gasped in delight and took off to greet the group.

"Friend Beast Boy has the family time been most bonding?"

"Hey Star. Er, yeah."

"Glorious! How fortunate you are to have such times. Blackfire and I never have had such moments of bonding." She landed lightly on the floor and tilted her head, placing one finger on her cheek as she considered. "Although that may be because Blackfire has been in prison and exile recently."

"Prison?" His parents asked.

"Yes," Starfire beamed innocently, oblivious to Beast Boy's urgent motions to stop talking. "My sister has been recently imprisoned by the Centauri for thievery." Her smile dropped somewhat, "It was very nice to see her but we had to turn her over to the proper authorities. Then when she took over Tameran-"

"Uh, Star," Raven interrupted.

"Yes friend Raven?" Starfire's expressive eyes widened. "Perhaps I have shared too much?" she asked in a small, fearful voice.

"Yeah, maybe," Raven said.

"Oh! Then I shall make the pudding for forgiveness!" Aghast at her own lack of tact, the Tameranian few off down the hall towards the kitchen.

"We were just about to go out after Mom sees my room," Beast Boy said continuing down the hall. Raven fell into step beside him.

"Go before Star comes back with the pudding," Raven advised. Beast Boy nodded rapidly in agreement. They arrived at his door and he let himself and his mother in. Beast Boy's father's voice stopped Raven as she took her leave.

"So, Raven was it?"

Slowly the dark girl looked back over her shoulder. "Yes," she answered in a cool monotone.

"I just wanted to say sorry for looking at your book earlier. The book of a tzar, was it?"

"Azar," Raven corrected, turning fully around to glare at him.

"Ah. Yes. Well," he fidgeted slightly under her stony look. "I'm sorry anyway." Raven turned to leave but was stopped again. "Uhm, so what was it? I only read a little but it seemed like it was notes on meditation."

"Yes. Among other things." She replied.

"And then some of it seemed like a history? Or perhaps it was a metaphorical tale? What's Azerath?"

Raven silently counted to ten and let out a puff of air. "Azerath is where I am from," she replied and nothing more.

"Where's that?"

"Where's what?" Beast Boy's mother asked from the doorway.

"Azerath," He replied.

"Oh, is that where you're from?" His mother asked Raven.

Raven looked beyond her to where Beast Boy stood, looking stricken. He knew from painful experience that with Raven it wasn't wise to pry.

"Yes." Raven replied glaring once more.

"You said you weren't an alien, so you're human then?"

Raven considered her options and the slightest smirk tugged at her lips before she answered. "No." She paused for effect. "I'm a demon." The look of confusion and shock on the Logans' faces was worth the annoyance she'd just been through. She couldn't help the small, evil smile before she teleported away in a flame of black energy.

Mark and Marie Logan turned to one another then their son. Beast Boy chuckled uncomfortably and scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, that's Rae," he laughed half heartedly and rocked on his heels nervously.

"Where'd she go?"

"Oh, probably to her room," Beast Boy shrugged. "That's where she usually stays. She has to meditate a lot to control her powers and the rest of the tower is usually kinda loud, so she stays there because it's quieter. So, uh, want to get going?"

"You aren't going out like that are you?" His mother asked.

"Why? What's wrong?"

"It's spandex Garfield."

"For the last time it's not spandex," he muttered, "It's actually some sort of poly-ma-mer-something-ized steel or titanium or something. Robin knows. Cy probably does too."

"Well whatever. Put on some normal clothes and let's get going," his mother urged. Grumbling Beast Boy did as he was told and emerged from his room moments later in a black t-shirt and slightly wrinkled jeans. They walked back to the common room and waited for the elevator. "Don't you brush your hair?" His mother fussed. She pulled a comb from her purse and began brushing his hair into some semblance of order.

"Mom! C'Mon!" he protested, trying to duck away.

"Oh, honestly Garfield," she said in exasperation as she finally managed to hold him still long enough to properly comb his hair. This was, of course, when the elevator doors opened to let Cyborg out onto the floor. The mechanical teen had to put a hand over his mouth to keep from laughing. The Raven-worthy glare Beast Boy gave him only made him want to laugh harder. He stepped aside to let them enter the elevator and a small snigger escaped.

"Friends!" Starfire called out. Beast Boy groaned and mentally cursed Murphy and his stupid law. "You must have some of the pudding of forgiveness!"

"No, really, you didn't do anything St-Mmupf!"

Starfire withdrew the spoon from beast Boy's mouth and proceeded to force-feed his parents as well. Cyborg lost it as the Logans turned as green as their son. Eyes watering they swallowed and gritted their teeth. Beast Boy gagged and hurried his parents into the elevator before something else embarrassing could happen.

"What was that?" his mother asked.

"I really don't think we want to know," her son replied. They walked out of the tower doors and Beast Boy slumped again. He'd forgotten that they needed a way off the island. "One second," he told them. Sighing he turned around and hit the comm. panel.

"Hey Cy?"

"He's busy laughing," a dry voice answered.

"Great," Beast Boy groaned, "anyway, is there any chance I could get some help getting off the island?"

On the other side of the connection Raven considered telling Cyborg to get himself together and drive them over. After all that's what the all-terrain hover jets on his car were for.

"Friend Raven! You must try my pudding!" Starfire called over to her. Raven took one look and decided that nothing was more menacing than a cheerful alien with a bowl full of god-knew-what.

"Sorry Star. Going to help the Logans across the bay then do some errands." Raven was gone before Starfire had a chance to react.

"Helooo?" Beast Boy pressed the comm. button rapidly a few times. "Anyone there? Heloooo? Little help here!"

"Sure."

"Yeagh!" Beast Boy felt like he'd nearly jumped out of his skin. He whirled to face Raven. She had her hood down so it was fairly easy to tell she was amused by his reaction. Well, easy if someone knew Raven well Beast Boy thought. "Dude! Why do you keep doing that? I thought you'd get Cy to come help." Raven rolled her eyes.

"Star made pudding." It was all the explanation she needed and he understood immediately.

Raven walked over towards the Logans, who, she noted with amusement, took half a step back as she advanced. She looked over at Beast Boy and asked "where are you going?"

"Uhm, well," he scratched the back of his head as he thought. "I thought maybe we'd start at city hall and then go from there?"

"Ok, I can take you there."

"Really?" I mean isn't that really tiring or something?" Raven shrugged. One of her favorite stores was in the area and she was getting low on the incense she sometimes liked to burn. Raven's eyes glowed - it was the only warning the Logans had before darkness in the shape of a bird washed over them and they felt rapid movement and yet utter stillness. Suddenly they were in a grassy park beside an official looking building. The Logans staggered a bit but Beast Boy wasn't even fazed. "Thanks Raven,"

"Whatever. Call when you need a lift back." She strode off in the direction of the store, the gawking pedestrians clearing a wide aisle for her.

"Uhm...?"

"Raven can teleport," Beast Boy explained. "So, this is city hall" he gestured to the building behind them and began the tour.

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

Early evening found Raven, Starfire and Cyborg lounging around the tower. Cyborg was watching TV and Starfire was instructing Raven in the basic Tameranian alphabet since she'd decided that teaching the dark girl immediately would be the best thing to do.

Raven watched Starfire quickly make a series of elegant strokes to form the characters, and copied her motions. She couldn't tell if she was actually doing well since Starfire was hardly critical. The TV beeped and an icon flashed in the corner. Cyborg switched it to conference mode with a call of "Hey Ya'll" over his shoulder.

"Hey guys," Robin greeted them.

"Friend Robin! How is the city of Gotham? Was your journey uneventful? Have you been able to assist your mentor the Batman? May I visit at some future time? When are you returning home? Will you be long? Do you need assistance from us?" Starfire asked in a rush that made the other Titans feel winded.

"Er, fine, yeah it was pretty boring, yes and I have a few things left to do, I don't know, soon, probably not, not this time but thanks for asking," the Boy Wonder answered. He looked out the corner of his eye thinking he'd heard a snicker, but Bruce seemed to be totally absorbed in his work at the moment. "How's the city?"

"We're fine Rob. I told ya we could keep everything together."

"Where's Beast Boy? What was up with him?"

"He got a letter from his parents," Cyborg chortled. "They're in the city right now. He's out showing them around and then having dinner with them. Oh man, Robin you should have seen it!" Cyborg began laughing, "His mom showed pictures!" Cyborg clasped his hands together and brought them up to his cheek. "Widdle Garfield's fiwst steps!" he gushed mockingly before bursting into a full-out belly laugh.

"Oh man," Robin rubbed a hand down his face, half sorry he'd missed that and half in pity for his green teammate. "They're visiting? How is that going?"

"Beast Boy's parents are...most unusual," Starfire answered. Raven rolled her eyes at the complete understatement. "At first they did not believe that Beast Boy is a Titan. They have not heard of the man who is super and lives in Metropolis," Starfire paused and this time Robin definitely heard a snicker. "And they had not heard of the Batman either."

"Really?"

"Really. They did not believe Beast Boy was a superhero. They thought he was at a school of boarding." Cyborg had erupted into another laughing attack by this point and Robin could only shake his head in bemusement. "He's ok though, right?"

"He'll be fine," Raven replied.

"Yes I believe he will be fine as well," Starfire said. She and Raven exchanged a glance and Star continued. "However we are concerned that Beast Boy might be asked to leave."

"Leave?" Robin frowned. "But why?"

"Robin, we run around the city unchaperoned doing what amounts to vigilante justice while wearing spandex, and none of us can even vote yet." Raven put it succinctly.

"It's not spandex," Robin muttered, "But I guess I can see your point." Raven and Bruce both arched eyebrows that said "_you guess?_" but Robin ignored them. "Right. Well I should be back in a couple days." He looked over at Bruce who nodded, eyes back on his own display. "Yeah a couple days."

"Is the man bat there?" Starfire asked curiously.

"Uh," Robin paused, "yeah."

"Oh! So you are in the cave of bats that you have mentioned?" She asked.

"Y-es."

"It is wonderfully dark and dismal," Starfire said cheerily and she leaned to one side then the other as if she could see around Robin. A much taller figure in grey and black walked into the frame next to Robin. Star made a little delighted sound.

"Mr. Man-bat!" she greeted, flying towards the screen. "I am most pleased to meet you even if we are not actually meeting in person but instead are conversing over a monitor."

"Starfire, right?"

"Yes," Starfire nodded.

"Hmm. We need to get going."

"Right. Bye guys! I'll check in again." The connection went dead as he cut it.

"So."

"Uh," Robin replied.

"The red-head?"

"Uhm." He blushed in spite of himself. "Star's just a really good friend Bruce."

"Right," Batman stretched the word out.

Robin scowled slightly as his friend walked away. "What? She is!" he protested.

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTt

Beast Boy idly fiddled with the silverware in front of him. Resting his chin in one hand he watched the room as the waiter finished taking their order. They were in a Chinese place that the Titans often ate at so Beast Boy felt he could keep a low profile there. The tour had been a trying experience. Save the city often enough and people notice. People also notice if you're green. People especially notice if you're a green teenage superhero who desperately didn't want to be noticed for once.

The Mayor had bustled out to briefly speak with him and thank him and pass his thanks on to the other Titans for once again saving the city from utter ruin. Then at the museum a group of fourth graders on a field trip had spotted him and begged him to turn into a Tyrannosaur next to the skeleton in the museum entryway. Feeling slightly dazed from the flash photography he'd lead his parents to the municipal park for a quick lunch at a café near the center. That had gone well until he'd been asked to sign autographs. _"Where are these people on a normal day?"_ he wondered.

"Gar," his father began, "We aren't sure this is good, what you're doing."

"But-!"

"Hold on," his father held up a stalling hand. "We can appreciate that you're doing good deeds and have the best intentions, but Gar, it's dangerous."

"So's Africa,"

"Exactly. Which is why we sent you back here to begin with! Look,w e just don't want you to be hurt again."

"Mom, I'm fine. Really," he insisted and tried to change the topic. "So what are you doing here? African research finally get boring?"

"Well we really wanted to see you. Letters and the occasional email just aren't the same, you know. We also anted to tell you that we're going to be moving to Gotham for at least the next few years." His mother explained. Nodding his father continued.

"The university has made a deal with Wayne enterprises. As part of that, we're going to be conducting research in the Wayne labs in Gotham."

"Oh, cool!" Beast Boy smiled. Having lived with two, he knew that seeking research funding was the bane of every researcher. A deal with Wayne meant a fairly significant degree of financial security.

"We thought that, well, since we'll be here, maybe you should come live at home with us." His dad smiled. His mom smiled. Beast Boy looked terrified.

"In Gotham?" He gasped. "Gotham's like a full days drive away!" He flailed in his seat. "How the heck would I be able to help the team? And Batman doesn't seem to need a side-kick right now. I mean that's Robin's job and Robin is primarily with the Titans now."

"Well, Gar," His dad scratched the back of his head, "We were kind of hoping you'd stop playing super hero and go to highschool."

"Playing superhero? Playing?"

"Gar you have your education to think of,"

"Hey! I've learned plenty of...stuff. Most teens haven't been to other planets before." He crossed his arms, "or been to the bottom of the sea, or to different planes of existence or have their own submarine-slash-spaceship," he muttered.

"Gar, you run around wearing spandex in a city that seems perfectly safe."

"It's safe because we help make it safe! Mom, Dad, listen. First of all I told you, it's not actually spandex, it's some form of really flexible titanium polymer or something. It's bullet proof and laser proof. Lay-ser. As in beams of super-concentrated photons that can cut you in half? Does the average High-school kid know what super-concentrated photons are? I have first hand experience! Don't you think a bunch of teenagers would wear more stylish clothing? Don't you think that because we aren't, there's a good reason?"

"Well,"

"I fit in with my friends. Cyborg is half machine, Star is an alien, Robin is Batman's sidekick, Raven and in case you haven't noticed I'm green and can turn into any animal."

"Exactly,"

"No! Mom, Dad, I can help people. For some reason I can do what I do and do a lot of...do-gooding." He frowned. "I can help people and because I can help I should help." He sat back in his chair with a sigh, certain that he wasn't making his point well. "The Team needs me."

"Gar, it's not just the danger,"

"School."

"It's not just school either. Gar you're still a teenager," His dad said.

"_Hence the **Teen **in Teen Titans,"_ he thought. _"Hence? Dude. Way too much time around Raven. Come to think of it, how the heck did I know about super-concentrated photowhat- its. Wait, that's not right-"_

"Gar, are you listening to us?" His mother asked.

"Uhhm, yes?"

His mother sighed and repeated herself. "It's not just the danger or the lack of schooling but it's the complete lack of any supervision."

"We couldn't help but notice that you all live together, Gar."

"Yeah? So?" Beast Boy replied. He didn't see what his parents were getting at since he was currently too busy envisioning a live in nanny. Or worse- being forced to move out of the tower.

"Raven and Star seem like lovely young women," His dad said.

"Yeah, they're great friends- wait. You think? Oh, come on! Starfire is about 100 times stronger than any of us and those starbolt thingies hurt and Raven... you do _not_ cross Raven. There is no way any of us guys would live if we tried to come on to them."

"Well, son, you are teenagers."

"So we can be entrusted with the protection of the city but we can't be trusted to be housemates?" He knew he sounded surly at this point but even if he DID shamelessly flirt with girls, he liked to think he was a gentleman. Raven and Star were definitely not "loose" girls and he didn't like the implications otherwise.

"Gar, we love you," his mother told him. She placed a hand on his shoulder. His father put one on the other.

"We just want what's best for you. We're not denying that you have gifts or aren't trying to do something good."

"We just want what's best for you and we're not sure that this is it." Beast Boy sighed and relaxed a bit. They were only bringing any of this up because they cared, so he shouldn't be so angry.

"There is a dinner tomorrow night in Gotham for all the research heads and the Wayne Corporation board. We'd like you to come with us. We can talk about this Titan thing later."

"I don't know," Beast Boy said, thinking about the city. They'd be down two Titans instead of just one.

"Please? We haven't seen you in so long." His mother pleaded. Beast Boy signed and nodded.

"Sure," he relented. His parents smiled and he felt a bit better. It _was_ nice to see them. He just wished they were ok with the whole super-hero thing.

* * *

Time to smack the button!

Thanks for reviewing: Martine, Kel B, Warrior-wolf, sweet Nymph, Gothic Revival, Lost inside, Murakio, me262, spazzfire, pink-hooligan, evee-shadows, lefufin, regreme erutaerc, Elian Rhoss, Haru (whee Bats:TAS!), Slayergirl1362, lachwen, starfiretheinvincible, cherry, and (just before I posted this) Jade-Monsoons.

Katergator – yeah I made the Tameranian legend-y thing up. Yes I know that in the comic Starfire can do the starbolt thing because of the Psions, but they haven't addressed that in the show so I'm going with "it's something all Tameranians can do, but specifically in the Ep Betrothed Blackfire didn't send the army out for obvious reasons". As for the story I figure gee, this might be one reason Star's got such a puppylove crush on Robbie-pooh.

Instant Coffee- Thanks for the compliments on the Alfred/Bruce/Dick moments. I've been watching a lot of Justice League too and I got Vol 1 of Bats:TAS so I wanted to include Bats in there someplace. This is sort of headed to how I think the show could transition Robin into Nightwing. ('cause I seriously doubt they'll do what really happened in the comics)

Rurouni Tyriel, yep. I had to go there . Hmm I hadn't envisioned a Mystic that resembles Raven....nahhh. Was just adding that little twist in as another reason Star might like Robin.

Raven Forever – Yes at one point I did know what she was saying but since it's been such a long time I've forgotten. I do remember that generally she mentions the Siege of Knorbak and a vision Dariand'r has of X'Hal and the rest was about some other glorious and honorable battle. Tameranians are sort of like very open, cheerful Klingons. It's almost disturbing.

Keystone- 1) Thank you

2) Thanks there's a method to the madness. A reason for it all really. See it's not so much a story about BB as it is about Relationships. No, really. Sure BB provides the primary A plot and the Primary B plot is his emotional journey, but his isn't the only story exploring the theme. Robin's got some issues to work out as well between how he feels about his new place with the Titans and his old place as Batman's sidekick. Robin's story isn't primary 'cause all of this is classic b-plot stuff for him (all internal struggle with relatively little action compared to BB's parent's visit) Then on top of that there are the relations between the Titans themselves. I did a little Rae-BB interaction and it's probably fairly obvious that I'm going for some rob-bb friendship stuff now, mostly because it's not in the show so much. Star-Raven friendship was just something added in as I went along because it also isn't something really explored in the show.

So, er, that was probably a longer answer than expected hopefully you haven't run away in fear or fallen asleep.

Senagirl - Yeah I know in the beginning that the creators wanted Robin to be all the Robins yet none of them. However they've really been making a strong case for him being Dick Grayson. First with future Robin becoming Nightwing (Dick) then Larry "Nosysrg Kcid" (Dick Grayson backwards) and most recently in Haunted when Raven sees the images from Robin's mind there is a mini montage of Robin's experiences including falling trapeze artists.

So while the creators intended not to be specific they've really been pointing fingers. The entire continuity is its own animal divorced from the other animated continuities and the comics, but given what's been shown I went with Dick.

When TT began they were teens and I am fairly certain that Dick was the original Robin on the team. The TT roster has changed a heck of a lot and the name of the comic has changed too but I'm just going off what I read in titanstowerdotcom, so I might be incorrect. The cartoon is very different from the comic series but they do make a heck of a lot of references to the comics in small ways. I know they're different but I like the little nods to the comic that they include, so why shouldn't I include some?

BB's a bit more worried about his parents than he is about making cheesy comments. It really was a conscious decision to show him being a bit more serious even if he was going over the top in trying to escape in the beginning.

As for Raven, well I try sometimes you win sometimes you don't. Hopefully she was more IC this chapter.

Bob-Chan: I was referring to the regular TT comics, not TT GO! Which is entirely different

CloudsHalo - I'm not abandoning the other fic. Really! I have been working on it here and there. I do like this one more so given the chance I'll work on this first, sorry! But I plan on finishing the other fic in the next chapter if I can. Might mean a double length chapter but I don't think anyone will complain.

Bloodcri- well she told them she was a demon and that just really, really weirded them out. I don't know if they'd have reacted as much to her mentioning Trigon. These people don't know who superman is, remember

Whew. Thanks for all the reviews! Sorry for the LONG wait between updates but things got hectic and I'm also a proud Heroic Citizen in City of Crack Addicts. Raven has a CAPE! But none of you care heh. Cya next chapter!


	6. Chapter 6

A/N) And I'm back! W00t. So, uh, insert plausible excuse for this taking so long here and insert me begging forgiveness here. Right. That's done.

* * *

Chapter 6 

Beast Boy walked out of the restaurant with mixed feelings. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and rocked on his heels as his parents followed him out, caught up in some point or other about his father's latest research. Night had fallen while they'd been dining. Warm air swept in from the coast carrying a lightly salty scent and ruffled his hair. He checked his watch, wondering how late it was exactly. Seeing it was getting on towards 11pm Beast Boy decided he'd better head home and tell his friends he'd be leaving for Gotham early in the morning. He wanted to catch them before they went to bed and his parents probably needed a lift to their hotel, which meant calling Raven. Raven who seemed to be particularly vengeful when woken abruptly. Especially by him. "_Vengeful? Man, too much time with Miss. Vocabulary_. _Raven's rubbing off on me_," he thought as he dug his communicator out of a pocket.

"Need a lift?" Beast Boy asked his parents as he flipped the communicator open. "I'm sure Raven won't mind." _Provided she isn't already in her room for the evening._

"No, that's ok," his mother quickly answered. "We don't …want to put her out. The hotel is just around the corner."

"Well, ok," Beast Boy said with a shrug, putting his communicator away. "I'll just fly home then." He gave each a hug and a quick kiss on the cheek before leaping into the air and shifting into an eagle. He wheeled once then took off in the direction of Titans' Tower, enjoying the feel of the warm updraft over his feathers. Rather than taking a direct route, the teen meandered from updraft to updraft, enjoying the sensation of flying and taking some time to think over the day's events.

On the one hand it was really good to feel like a family again. He knew his friends liked him, but that didn't stop them from giving him a hard time. It was nice to have a dinner where he didn't have to fight for the right to eat vegan. At the same time though, the thought of leaving the Titans made him feel queasy. Beast Boy knew he was a social animal, pun intended. Having lived with few friends in Africa and then with a group of close ones here, he knew which life he preferred. Living without his friends was something he feared. Star's story about her trip to the future had struck a chord. He'd passed off his unease with a joke about his becoming bald, but he'd made a conscious effort to not annoy his teammates so much. Not to say he was entirely successful, but he tried.

Beast Boy landed on the roof, let himself in, and trudged downstairs, still lost in thought. Cyborg looked over his shoulder when he heard Beast Boy return. He waved then turned back to the video game at hand. Star and Raven were engrossed by something at the kitchen table. Curious, Beast Boy wandered in their direction and watched over Star's shoulder for a moment. Star looked up and smiled a greeting.

"Welcome home! How was your time with your parents?" she asked cheerfully.

"It was ok," he shrugged.

"Is there something wrong?" Starfire asked, bright countenance falling in an instant. Beast Boy waved her concern aside and grinned.

"Nah. They want me to go to some fancy dinner in Gotham tomorrow. I told them I'd think about it. I don't want to leave you guys short handed."

"Gotham! That is where Robin is. Perhaps you will see him?"

"Hey, ya know I might," Beast Boy smiled. "Have you heard from him?"

"Robin called earlier." Raven spoke up, but her eyes never left the page she was examining. "He's going to be in Gotham for a few more days. He said he'd call again tomorrow. When are you leaving?" She looked up finally. "You might be able to meet him in the city." Her eyes dropped back down to the page. "Your mom can show him baby pictures too," she said. Beast Boy groaned and ran a hand over his face.

"I'm going to meet mom and dad at the hotel at about 8. I won't be back until the day after. Think you guys can hold the fort down while I'm gone?" Beast Boy asked, raising his voice a little so Cyborg would hear. The mechanical Titan paused his video game and was about to retort with a smart remark, but the comment died before it could leave his lips. The looks Raven and Starfire were giving him behind Beast Boy's back promised pain.

"We got it covered," Cyborg called back instead, appeasing the girls. Raven nodded agreement.

"We'll be fine," she replied evenly.

"Cool. Well, I am going to bed before something else embarrassing happens." Beast Boy plodded off to bed, feeling more tired than he'd felt in a long while.

"Goodnight."

"Night B,"

"Good night friend! Raven, please tell me, what is this fort that we are supposed to be holding?"

"It's an expression Star."

"Oh,"

Beast Boy turned the corner and his friends' voices faded, replaced by the slight hum of the tower's power systems. Beast Boy got ready for bed and slid under the covers, pulling them above his head.

"Why are things so complicated?" he wondered as he fell asleep.

His dreams were a cacophony of sounds and twisted images both amusing and frightful. In one he lost his powers and was literally kicked from the tower, even Starfire snubbing him. Images of his parents proudly proclaiming their son was a super hero as they won the Nobel prize. Beast Boy hunted a gorilla wearing Slade's armor with the Titans in the jungles of Africa. His parents were kidnapped by Slade, his parents kidnapped Slade, Slade pulled off his mask and Beast Boy saw Slade was his father.

"No! It's Impossible!"

Beast Boy woke up in a frightened sweat and quickly looked to see if his hand was still there. "Whew." He breathed a sigh of relief and realized he'd been having weird dreams. He wondered how much long he had to sleep, but of course, his alarm went off then. Grumbling he smacked the offending machine and hopped out of bed.

Raven sipped her tea and watched the seagulls glide through the early morning sun. She'd had a rough night thanks to the emotional echoes of Beast Boy's dreams. She hadn't seen any images thankfully, but the waves of emotion from down the hall had been enough to keep waking her. She'd finally given up, resolving to nap as soon as the annoying changeling had left the building. Her purple eyes flicked up towards the door as it slid open. Beast Boy despondently dropped his duffle on the table top and grabbed a banana from the bowl of fruit.

"Morning," she said, voice more gravelly than normal from lack of sleep.

"Morning," he replied. "You're up early."

"Couldn't sleep."

"I didn't get such great sleep either. I kept having these weird dreams, and- Oh. Did I, er, wake you or something?" Seeing that Beast Boy actually looked apologetic, Raven shrugged.

"Doesn't matter. Robin's not here to make us train. I can sleep all day if I want," she reasoned. Seeing he was off the hook, her teammate nodded relieved agreement. "Look," she began. "See if you can't find Robin while you're there. I have a feeling you'll be able to. He's…obsessive, but he is responsible."

"Yeah. Mom and Dad might feel better about this if they meet him too. But I don't know what I am gonna do if-"

"Don't," she stopped his train of thought.

"Wha?"

"Don't think on it. Don't dwell on it. Just go. Be with your parents. You don't know what will happen so there isn't a point to dwelling on all the bad things that could happen. Or that you perceive could happen."

"But what if-" He stopped at her stalling hand.

"Don't. Deal with it when it comes." She set her cup and saucer down on the kitchen counter. "You need to do what is best for you. And you don't know what that is right now."

"But-"

Again she cut him off. "You'll know," she said. "You'll know what's best. Remember, no one can tell you what that is. Everything is just speculation now, and in the end any decision to be made is yours."

Beast Boy watched as she calmly picked her tea back up and sipped it quietly. _"How the hell did she get so smart?"_ he wondered. _"Maybe it's all that meditation."_ A thought occurred to him.

"Do you want me to leave?" he asked cautiously. She looked up and blinked at him a few times before frowning.

"No." She sighed, slightly aggravated. "What I am saying is that no one can tell you what you should or shouldn't do."

"Oh. Ok. Just checking." Raven sighed.

"The truth is I am probably the last person to give you advice about family." The cup clacked softly against the table as she set it down once more. "Actually, none of us seem to have "normal" families," she said making little quote marks with her fingers. "But I do know about deciding what's best for yourself." _Even if you don't always like it_ she added mentally. He smiled, cheered somewhat.

"Thanks Raven. I don't mean to be a pain."

She shrugged. "It doesn't take an empath to see you're uneasy and a little upset. We're your friends. It's ok."

He chuckled. "Yeah. And I guess if we're all happy you don't have to deal with our Psychotic-ness or whatever disturbing your Meditation, huh?"

"Something like that." She replied as a friendly silence fell. Beast Boy quietly ate his banana and Raven finished her tea. She floated the cup into the dishwasher and stood, preparing to catch up on the sleep she'd missed.

"Hey Raven,"

"Yes?" She arched a quizzical brow.

"Do you know why Robin went to Gotham. Like what he's doing there with Bats?"

"No." Which was the truth in a sense. She suspected, but she didn't _know_.

"Ah. Well. I'll find him on my own I guess."

"Mornin' Y'all." Cyborg yawned and stretched as he strode through the door.

"Hey Cy."

"Good night." Raven replied as she left, headed for bed. Cyborg watched her go.

"She know she's got it backwards? It's time to get up."

"She said she couldn't sleep," Beast Boy explained.

"Ah. So!" Cyborg rubbed his hands together, "You ready to head off to Gotham to hob-knob with the excessively geeky?"

"No, but I'm going anyway." Beast Boy made a face. "My parents want me to have a tuxedo."

"Aww man," Cyborg commiserated.

"Yeah. I offered to just go as a Penguin." He shifted into the arctic bird and emphasized the point with a 'Squwak'. "But they didn't think it was funny," he said glumly when he shifted back. He looked at the time and grabbed his duffel. "I guess I've gotta run. Say bye to Star for me?"

"Will, do, buddy."

"Thanks!" He waved to his friend and left the tower, headed for his parents' hotel. He landed a few feet from the door and gave a jaunty wave to the surprised doorman. His Mother was waiting for him in the hotel lobby.

"Good morning!" she called out cheerily. "Let's leave your bag in the room and we can go get you fitted for a tux." She continued on about her new colleagues and research, but Beast Boy only listened with half an ear, thinking back on what Raven had said. He followed his mother a shop and was forced to try on a number of tuxes before they found one that fit him well enough to not need any alterations. Personally, Beast Boy had thought the first one had been fine, but his mother had insisted he try on six more. They met his father at the Jump City train station and boarded the high speed train headed for Gotham. After picking through an unsatisfying salad with (excessively) limp lettuce, Beast Boy wondered if this was what was in store for his future. He even missed Cybog's insistence on meat being the best food. Well, almost.

Hours later the countryside rolled past, tree after tree after tree after field after field after tree. The train clacked along the tracks, speeding for Gotham and Beast Boy was one bored Titan. He idly pictured the train being stopped by robbers. The villains would wear red bandannas and carry futuristic six shooters that fired lasers. They'd ride in on mechanical horses and demand everyone's money and credit cards. And then, from the shadows a green bull, no, bear, no tiger would leap at them and swat the leader's gun away with one massive paw. The leader would be startled but he'd leap to his feet and the fight with a mighty gorilla would be on. His parents would watch as their son turned into a massive triceratops who'd pin the bad guy against the wall with his horns and be so frightened he'd faint dead away. Then the other badguys would try and gang up on him, but they'd be no match for the green elephant, or the emerald boa-constrictor or the terrifying jade tyrannosaur! They'd fall one by one until there was a heap waiting for the authorities. Then Beast Boy would turn back into a human and stand just so with one foot on the pile. Lights would shine, the wind would tousle his hair , the ladies would swoon, his parents would be proud and tell the reporters that he was their awesome kid. And the authorities would walk up to him and say "We're in Gotham. Wake up Garfield."

"Huh?" _That's a weird thing for a reporter to say_, Beast Boy thought as he blinked, coming back to reality. "Where are we?" he asked as she looked out of the window and saw only more wooded areas.

"You fell asleep," his father said. "Look, there's the city. We'll be pulling into the station in about five minutes." The woods gave way to open air as the train crossed a bridge between hills. Beast Boy could finally see the city in the overcast afternoon light. Gotham squatted like a grumpy gargoyle next to the coast; all steel, cement and stone under a colorless sky. _How the heck did Robin live here?_ He wondered. _How could anyone live here?_ Beast Boy had grown up in lush African jungles where the skies were blue and the tallest building didn't break through the green canopy overhead. Gotham, he could see as the train wound its way into the city, was a jungle of a different sort, full of tall, grey buildings under a matching sky. The train slowed to smooth stop in the city's train station. The Logan's grabbed their belongings and exited the train.

The station had originally been built in the mid 1800s of thick stone meant to stand up against the usually inclement weather. An earthquake had destroyed a large part of the station and it had been renovated in the 20s in the nouveau style, building on the old foundations and expanding the building to accommodate the growing city. Beast Boy didn't know any of this history however, and merely goggled like the other tourists in the train station. The frosted glass ceiling illuminated the station with a warm light at odds with the heavy steel buttresses and stone supporting it. Beast Boy's head turned in all directions, trying to take in the massive station and keep track of his parents. They made their way from their platform past the high speed trains to Central City and Metropolis and the commuter trains to the suburbs and finally entered the grand concourse.

The grand concourse, like the platforms, was a blend of the new and the old. Beast Boy cringed slightly under the vigilant gaze of the older stone carvings of men. The stone men holding up the arching roof didn't seem to be displeased with their task, merely resigned. Their brushed steel younger brothers didn't look very happy either with their tasks of supporting window frames and serving as statuary. As warm as the previous room had been, this one was cold and it gave Beast Boy the creeps. _"No wonder Batman is supposed to be so grumpy,_" he thought to himself, _"Even the statues aren't happy to be here."_ The family stepped outside to find that it had started to drizzle. _"Even the weather is depressing." _He sniffed the air, using his keen senses to get a better feel for the city. The city smelled of car exhaust and industry; slightly dusty and acrid. He wrinkled his nose and peered at the towering buildings through the light rain. More gargantuan stone people gazed down at him. _"Creepy."_ His father hailed a taxi and Beast Boy darted in, glad to be out of the rain and from under the stone gazes of the city's architecture.

The hotel his parents were currently in was for long term stay and was more like an apartment than any hotel Beast Boy had ever stayed in before. The novelty soon wore off leaving Beast Boy bored out of his mind. He considered using his communicator to call home but decided against it. He was saved from being bored to death by the discovery of the room's complimentary GameStation. His fun was cut short when his father decided to remind him of proper table etiquette. Beast Boy was still pondering why anyone would need more than one fork when his mother announced it was time to get ready for the party. Shoes still new and stiff and tie tied a bit too tight, Beast Boy followed his parents out of the hotel and into a waiting taxi.

Bruce Wayne: Gotham social elite, mover and shaker, keen businessman, playboy, philanthropist, utterly bored. Normally Bruce liked these sorts of parties more than others the board threw for big events. In his 'real' job he did a lot of research therefore parties where he could have a chat with the people who wrote what he read was of dual professional interest. Tonight however was exceptionally boring. Currently he was only half paying attention to the university official and his trophy wife, allowing years of experience to auto-pilot his participation in the conversation. He scanned the room for Dick.

Unfortunately for the teen, he'd been spotted by the pack of wives and other assorted women who thought it was their sworn duty to cosset and mother Bruce's young ward. Bruce found him cornered on the far side of the room. Dick's hair had been flattened, again, and the boy looked like he wanted to unleash a few Birdarangs and follow up with his Bo. Bruce disengaged from the conversation with practiced ease and headed towards the cluster of senior women and his friend. Unfortunately for Dick a small man darted forward and drew him into conversation with a light touch on his arm. Bruce recognized the thin, balding man as Dr. Stephen Iverson, one of the Wayne Corporation's staff scientists and chief liaison with the University of Gotham.

"Bruce, I'd like you to meet the Logan's. Mark and Marie are going to be two of our head researchers," Dr. Iverson said. Bruce smiled congenially and nodded. The man walked away and came back half a second later, eyes shining as they did when he was able to report some new scientific endeavor to the board. "Oh yes! One more thing, their son Garfield is, if I am not mistaken, one of the Teen Titans." He grinned, "After all how many entirely green teenagers are there out there, eh?" He nudged the billionaire with his elbow. "He and his teammates have done quite a bit of good for us in Jump City. It was fantastic to thank one of them in person. Why just the thought of-" Bruce tactfully cut the man off before he could being rambling about one project or another.

"Thanks for telling me Stephen," Bruce said with genuine feeling. "I'll be sure to talk to them. I was just going to see how Dick was doing." _'and to prevent him from being smothered to death…or committing homicide,' _he thought to himself. _'And now I need to warn him about Beast Boy.'_ Thinking quickly he added, "Dick would probably appreciate someone his own age to talk to as well," he grinned wryly. The scientist chuckled heartily.

"Oh my word yes! I'll just go talk with the Logan's why you save Dick from those well meaning ladies over there," The doctor smiled conspiratorially and walked off. Bruce hurried through the meandering crowd, dodging at least half a dozen attempts to engage him in conversation.

"Ladies," he greeted the group then greeted each one in turn by name. "I hope you don't mind if I borrow Dick for awhile," he asked and flashed the "Playboy" smile the press seemed to like so much.

'_Thank You!' _Dick thought. Bruce caught his eyes and winked as he worked the crowd. It had taken him all of 30 second to have the matrons eating out of the palm of his hand. Dick was slightly annoyed that he himself hadn't been able to charm his way out despite his best efforts. _'Time to take notes,'_ he thought, watching his mentor. Soon enough he was free. He sighed in relief and ran a hand though his hair, spiking it once more. He turned to say something to Bruce but the look on his face made Dick pause. The set in Bruce's jaw was utterly Batman. Something was up.

"In a moment Dr. Iverson is going to introduce us to a pair of scientists; the Logans." Dick nodded. "Their son is here also. His name is Garfield, but I believe the world knows him best as Beast Boy." Bruce watched his ward as he dropped that bomb. Dick's eyes widened and he gulped before quickly schooling his features. As Bruce suspected, Robin hadn't told his team his other identity. The teenager nodded, cool and collected in all outward appearance, exactly as he'd been taught. Years working with Dick allowed Bruce to catch a glimpse of the utter panic lurking behind his eyes however. Bruce nodded and put on his 'party face' as he led Dick over to where Iverson was chatting with the couple and their very green son.

Beast Boy was bored. So. Utterly. Bored. The only person who'd been vaguely interesting was Dr. Peterson, the zoologist who was fascinated with his powers and had asked all sorts of interesting questions before his parents had hustled him off. Pity. Beast Boy would have liked to have spoken with the scientist further. He seemed to know a lot and in a field Beast Boy didn't feel like an utter dunce in. Beast Boy listened with half an ear to this skinny, bald man with far too much energy chat with his parents. The man had energetically thanked him for his super-hero work in Jump City, but his praises seemed to have been cut short. The man must have noted the uncomfortable tension his parents had radiated when that particular subject was brought up. The conversation had swiftly turned to academic matters and Beast Boy had just as swiftly lost interest. A small bit of the conversation caught his attention now though. Apparently they were going to meet _The_ Bruce Wayne. Cool. He'd never met a multi-billionaire before. He'd probably be boring as well though, Beast Boy concluded.

He looked off to the side and could see a tall, well dressed, distinctive man headed towards them. Someone was following him though the crowd. Someone much shorter and apparently younger, though Beast Boy couldn't get a clear look. The Titan's eyes narrowed as he spied a very familiar haircut. He could just barely catch the scent of Robin's hair gel. A strange sense overcame him as he remembered that Robin was also supposed to be in Gotham. But this couldn't be Robin. Why would Robin be here at this party of all places? Unless he was undercover…

"Mark, Marie, Garfield," Iverson began introductions; "I'd like you to meet Bruce Wayne. Bruce these are the Doctors Logan and their son Garfield." His parents politely shook Wayne's hand while Beast Boy tried to get a better look at the teenager who he was beginning to suspect was Robin. The doppelganger was hanging back and Bruce was addressing him, drawing his attention.

"You're a Titan right? You and your friends have really helped us I hear," Wayne said. He smelled of expensive cologne and had a firm handshake. He seemed to be genuine in his thanks. Beast Boy smiled back and shrugged.

"Hey, it's what we do." Wayne beckoned to the teenager behind him. He placed a fatherly hand on the youth's shoulder as he introduced him.

"This is Dick Grayson. He's been my ward for the past few years. You two probably have more in common with one another than you do with the rest of us."

"Hi! Nice to meet you. Beast Boy, right?" Grayson held out a hand. Beast Boy shook it automatically.

Beast Boy goggled, mind working at warp speed. It _was_ Robin. From his voice, to his hand shake to his hair care products. Robin's real name was Dick Grayson and he _lived_ with Bruce Wayne. But Robin had never mentioned this; only living with Batman for the- Oh. Wow…._Wow._

"Yeah, that's me," Beast Boy answered quickly. "You can call me Gar." _'Oh yeah, we have a lot in common,'_ Beast Boy thought to himself.

"Gar, right,"

"Why don't you two go talk about video games or something and leave the boring business talk to us," Wayne suggested kindly. Dr. Iverson chuckled.

"Quite right! So, Bruce I was just telling…" He quickly engaged Wayne and his parents in a scientific discussion, leaving the boys to themselves.

"C'mon," Dick, jerked a thumb over his shoulder, "There's a great view from the roof balcony and we can get sodas. So, do you play Gamestation?" Beast Boy blinked and nodded.

"Uhh…Yeah. Yeah! My friends and I play all the time," he said, playing along as they quickly walked away from the adults. Their fake conversation continued until they were outside and well away from other party-goers enjoying the view on the balcony.

"Man," Robin grabbed a seat on one of the chairs and leaned back with a sigh.

"Dude!" Beast Boy shouted, then clapped a hand over his own mouth. He took a moment to calm down. "Dude," he repeated much more softly. "You were the _last_ person I expected to see here." He sat on a chair across from Robin.

"Mutual," Robin replied with a slight chuckle and wondered how this would change things if at all. It wasn't that he didn't trust his friends. It was just that the fewer people who knew about his other identity, the better because it wasn't just his secret to hide, it was Bruce's.

"OK, I gotta ask," Beast Boy said, leaning forward. "If you're Dick and you live with Wayne…but you said…Then that means…?" He let Robin mentally fill in the gaps. Contrary to popular belief, when things really mattered Beast Boy could not only figure things out, he could keep his mouth shut. All his instincts were telling him to proceed with caution. He'd stumbled onto something HUGE and if he was right in what he suspected…._wow._

Robin nodded slowly. "Yeah."

Beast Boy let out a low whistle. "Wow." He chuckled. "Never in a million years would I have guessed."

"Yeah. That's what I thought first too," Robin smirked.

"So, does anyone else…?"

"Raven. By accident."

"Vision?" The green teenager asked. Robin nodded. "Wow, just wow." Beast Boy grinned and shook his head. "So, uh, do I get to meet _him_? You know the other him." Robin shrugged.

"We got someone to cover for the evening, but who knows." The boy's neutral expression grew mischievous. "So…Garfield, eh?"

"Oh, you're one to talk _Dick._" Beast Boy retorted with a grin. Robin laughed and held up a hand.

"Ok, ok." He leaned on one arm and arched an eyebrow. "So you're parents dragged you here, huh?"

"Yeah," Beast Boy scuffed his shoe against the concrete as he assembled his thoughts. "They made a surprise visit. I thought they were still in Africa."

"They were in Africa?"

"Yeah. Like that guy said, they're Research Scientists. Dude, did you know that they have no clue who Batman and Superman are?" Robin blinked a few times.

"Well…I suppose it's statistically possible…"

"They didn't know I was a Titan. They didn't believe me when I told them either."

"That's what the others said when I called. They really didn't believe you?"

"Nope," he shook his head, "Now they want me to move here with them." He stood and went to the railing. Leaning his elbows on the broad stone he watched the ant-sized cars scurry below. Robin joined him and for a few minutes the two watched the rivers of red and white light flow between the massive buildings.

"Are you going to? Move with them I mean."

Beast Boy sighed and let his eyelids fall shut. "No. Yes. No. I don't know. I can't go back to being who I was before. I can't. If I lost my powers tomorrow I'd probably learn to fight with kung-fu and gadgets like y-…Batman and Robin do. What the Titans do is important and it might be a little selfish but it makes me feel important." He opened his eyes and watched the crescent moon through the perpetual haze of the city. "I might not know a lot and I might not be good at a lot of things, but this is something I _can _do. And I really do like helping people."

"I don't think anyone doubts that," Robin assured his teammate. He felt the same way; the world needed people to step up and fight against evil and malice, but yeah, he got a rush from victory and knowing he'd done a good job.

"My parents do," Beast Boy replied morosely. There was that, Robin supposed. Beast Boy wasn't 18 yet and his parents had every legal right to insist he come to Gotham and leave the Titans. Plus, they _were _his parents. Beast Boy unknowingly echoed the thought. "They're my Mom and Dad, they're not ogres."

Robin nodded silently, a tight feeling in his chest as he thought of his own family and the sort of empty feeling that had accompanied their deaths. Bruce helped fill that void, as did Alfred. Once he'd been worried that his father would be replaced, but he'd realized that was impossible. Bruce and Alfred filled a unique place in his heart and his life, separate from the rest of his family but no less dear. More recently the Titans had joined the older men as part of his new family. He'd found purpose and a place to belong once more, but that didn't make his loss any less…Just easier to live with.

He looked at his teammate and friend out of the corner of his eye. Beast Boy was doing a rather good impression of Bruce at his moodiest. It was a look that didn't fit the green Titan at all.

"There you guys are." Beast Boy and Robin turned to find Beast Boy's dad standing by the balcony doorway. The other party-goers had left while they'd been talking. "Dinner!" Dr. Logan jerked a thumb over his shoulder with a smile. The boys nodded and followed him back into the party.

And I am gonna cut it there. Sorry for the extremely long wait! dodges trash and heavy objects thrown her way really I am! Real Life calls, ya know? I also beg forgiveness for any grammatical/spelling errors in this chapter. It's about 3am now and I think I caught everything with spell check, but (sadly) I don't really have time to give it a very thorough scan for such things. This is my hobby. Lame excuse but its what I've got. Well that and I've been playing Hero again. (and because of the last TT ep, my one friend refuses to play with my Raven. She claims "she won't be blamed for my Apocalypse" heh.

Thanks to:

Rurouni Tyriel: Both those fics rule but Ive been neglecting the c2 archive uhh since I formed it. I'd like to add your fics if you don't mind.

CloudsHalo- thanks! Yeah I know she's half demon, but I purposefully had her tell them she was a demon because it's simpler and she still gets the shock. If she said she was half it'd lessen the impact a bit. I'm planning on Beast Boy explaining she's only half to his parents later. (then academic interest of sorts sort of overcomes the creeped out factor) glad you liked it YES I will update the other story. Eventually c.c;

Starfire-hime: No batgirl :( Sticking with Starfire. I'm not as well versed with the batclan anyway so I'll leave that to other authors :)

Instant Coffee: Thanks :) bows head in shame yeah I know i've got some rather atrocious grammar things in there, but I am begging leniency due to the whole "real life" thing. Gotta find a summer internship and do work and such things. I take my writing seriously but only so far with the fannish-stuff 'cause of time. / I'd grab a Beta, but if I had one then I'd definitely spend more time on this then I should. Witness the Giant-Fic-Of-Excruciating-Length-That-Will-Never-Be-Finished-Yet-Took-Lots-Of-Time-I-Should-Have-Spent-Elsewhere. (Or not, since that's not in this fandom and is posted under another name c.c; but I passed 100K words) Erm, yes, off topic.

Regreme (I've been really really busy!), Jade-monsoons, Redskin122004, Sweet Nymph, Wild Spirit of Darkness2, Itoshii Haruko, MillicentRaven, Lachwen, ForeyedRae (X3!), Dancingirl3(x2), Shiankra, Crying in the Dark, Carrot the LuvMachine, Maikafuiniel, Slayergirl1362, rob, Ravens Biggest Fan, Angel-star727, Cheenami-danny, bob-chan, Geodesic, Aninnymous, kat097, sangofanatic, mew-xena, skyphoenix, cyblade silver, Titansfan, Kasey rider, Inuyashastwin, sprox, gryffindorforever, k9 the first.

Thank you Thank you. My Ego thanks you! I apologize for the long wait and hope the next one wont be as long. YES I will finish both fics. REALLY.

You know what time it is!

See? The button cowers in fear! It knows what comes next.

Smack the button!


	7. Author Updateresponse

Author update:  
This chapter will be replaced with actual story content at some point in the next couple weeks. Sorry to get your hopes up if you wanted more, but you'll have to wait a little longer.

That out of the way, I wanted to respond to one of my reviews. Well, two actually. The first person asked me to email them but FFN is being it's usual self and I can't get your email from the system :P

"The Halfa Wannabe -Since you seem to know enough about Beastboy's past, I have to ask. Why are his parents coming to visit him? They're dead. Seriously I have to know. Please email me"

It's an AU fic. If you'd bothered to read the Author's Notes at the VERY top of the first chapter you'd see that I wrote:

"A/N) New fic for ya, hope it's somewhat amusing. :D Taking a few liberties with comic canon. (Hey, the cartoon does it, why can't I?) So for the duration please lets all pretend BB's parents aren't dead and they were specifically geneticists."

So why? Why not? It was a funny idea I had over summer break and was going to start writing, but then I remembered BB's parents were dead. Then I thought "well, the cartoon takes liberties with comic cannon, so why can't I? it's funny!" The cartoon doesn't address what happened to BB's parents (or Cybrog's or Starfire's, or Raven's mother) so since this is written for the cartoon fandom, why not bend the canon of the comic?

If you don't like non-comic-canon stuff or AUs then don't read.

I don't mean to be a bitch but I pointed out that this wasn't following Comic canon exactly, first thing and I've received two reviews in the last couple days stating the same thing. I don't want an inbox full of "OMFG BB'S Parents are DEAD!111eleventyone!" when I already said I know that. This is (hopefully) prevention.

Second point (in response to another review):

Which I also already addressed in a review response. I KNOW Raven is a half demon. But what's scarier – a half demon or a full demon? Full Demon. What, in Raven's mind, is going to freak out BB's parents more? Telling them she's a demon. In Raven's mind they don't need to know any details of her life, those are private matters. If she tells them she's a demon, they'll probably be freaked enough to let her be for the remainder of their visit. If she says she's half a demon, that's half as scary and almost more intriguing. Saying she was half demon would almost surely invite queries about her past. The last thing she'd want would be for either of the adults to ask "so, how'd your mother get it on with a demon?"

It's like if you just say "demon" then you have the mental image of what that entails just like if you said "angel", and they are more likely to run far far away and not bother her. Saying "half-demon" makes it so much more interesting and them more likely to overcome any fear they had and ask personal questions.

Aside from all that, deep down Raven fully feels the weight and taint of her dad's side and even if she's only half, she seems to feel like that's enough to make her a demon. Well, that's what I got from watching. Maybe I overanalyze.

Instant coffee:  
Your review totally made my day, ya know that:- D and yeah there should be stuff between the scenes to break it up but they got eaten and truthfully I've been too lazy to put 'em in. they'll be in when I update with a new chapter.

ok, later peeps!

HR


End file.
